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. Here's what people need to understand: the economy is not driven by money or finance- the economy is driven by energy, particularly oil. Oil is the economy. Without oil production/consumption growth, there can be no GDP growth. Period.
Bizarrely, the immense majority of people have no concept of this whatsoever- they all believe in the "energy tooth fairy." Well, peak oil hasn't gone away, it is still very much with us.
All economies are energy- in pre industrial times that energy was raw man and animal power. In the modern world, the energy is fossil fuels, with oil being the most important one. The global economy is faltering badly for one reason only- oil depletion.
Now, peak oil doesn't mean that the oil will run out. Rather, we will experience a net energy collapse. Net energy is the amount of energy left in a barrel of oil after you've finished extracting, refining, and transporting it- the net energy is what's left to produce GDP and run the complex systems of society. That net energy has been in decline as the cheap and easy to reach oil has been depleted.
It's amusing when fools point to shale oil as proof that peak oil is a hoax- shale oil is a business model that has never been able to cover it's own enormous operating costs. With shale oil, it's necessary to break apart and destroy a ton of rock to produce enough oil to power a single car for a measly two weeks. Are we really going to become "Saudi America" on the basis of that?
Furthermore, there is no substitute for oil. No other energy source is so dense, transportable, convenient, and versatile. The "green/renewable" energy farce is nothing more than a delusion that we can fight the laws of thermodynamics and win. We will not be able to run suburbia, Wal-Mart, the military industrial complex, Disney World, mass tourism, the airline industry, the interstate highway system, and food production for 8B people on any combination of solar, wind, geothermal, used French fry potato oil, the dark matter of the universe, etc. And even if there was a viable alternative to oil, it would take a full 3 decades to transition our infrastructure to that energy source.
The global financial system is like a ponzi scheme- it needs endless growth or else the whole thing comes crashing down. All paper assets- stocks, bonds, real estate, fiat currencies- derive their value from the expectation of endless growth. Peak oil will rip a gaping hole in that expectation. When oil production peaks and then declines, no amount of worthless debt will be able to prop up the markets, and in fact, all this debt is only making and already very bad predicament much, much worse.
I actually think this can be a net benefit for our economy. We're already trying to think of ways to become more green to help out the environment. We're improving production/efficiency of electric vehicles along with alternative energy. This has been a slow process to convert in the past, in part because the supply of oil was so plentiful and cheap (by comparison). Why spend all this R&D to develop green energy when you can just dig, dig, dig for cheap.
We're close to reaching the tipping point and yes, while it will hurt those energy companies and others that are slow to adopt green technology, it'll open up a whole new industry. Think of the market cap for someone like Tesla and you can understand why it has such a crazy valuation. This is just the beginning.
I actually think this can be a net benefit for our economy. We're already trying to think of ways to become more green to help out the environment. We're improving production/efficiency of electric vehicles along with alternative energy. This has been a slow process to convert in the past, in part because the supply of oil was so plentiful and cheap (by comparison). Why spend all this R&D to develop green energy when you can just dig, dig, dig for cheap.
We're close to reaching the tipping point and yes, while it will hurt those energy companies and others that are slow to adopt green technology, it'll open up a whole new industry. Think of the market cap for someone like Tesla and you can understand why it has such a crazy valuation. This is just the beginning.
"Green/renewable" energy/technology is not a solution. I've already explained why in my OP.
Plus, there is nothing green/renewable whatsoever about solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles. These are all high-tech false promises that will end in a river of tears.
The Ancient Roman Empire continued to build more hi-tech siege and warfare equipment even as their empire was collapsing. High tech will not prevent our collapse. In fact, it only makes things worse.
On the positive side, this may mean people have to congregate in high density cities like NYC. I hope so because midtown/downtown Manhattan has emptied. I hope collapse happens in next few months.
The horse breeders/farmers out in the country will find their business is in high demand. That will be a boom for the rural areas.
I need to learn how to ride a horse. The NYPD still uses horses by the way. Not sure why, perhaps they are ahead of the times and see this doom coming.
Also a new industry will be created to pick up all the doo doo the horses drop everywhere in the cities.
We will have no choice but to ripped up the asphalt roads, and let the weeds/grass grow again to accommodate the horses, mules, and donkeys that will make a comeback.
Oh and the people of Mongolia, Kazahkstan may find themselves once again the scourge of the settled world, and become great conquerors again massacring whole towns.
On the positive side, this may mean people have to congregate in high density cities like NYC. I hope so because midtown/downtown Manhattan has emptied. I hope collapse happens in next few months.
The horse breeders/farmers out in the country will find their business is in high demand. That will be a boom for the rural areas.
I need to learn how to ride a horse. The NYPD still uses horses by the way. Not sure why, perhaps they are ahead of the times and see this doom coming.
Also a new industry will be created to pick up all the doo doo the horses drop everywhere in the cities.
We will have no choice but to ripped up the asphalt roads, and let the weeds/grass grow again to accommodate the horses, mules, and donkeys that will make a comeback.
Oh and the people of Mongolia, Kazahkstan may find themselves once again the scourge of the settled world, and become great conquerors again massacring whole towns.
I dream of the day when I can ride horses down the abandoned superhighways...
The Mongol hoardes shouldn't be a problem, we have two huge oceans separating us from them.
Location: Was Midvalley Oregon; Now Eastside Seattle area
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Taggerun, is presenting a fairly extreme case. Roadrunner101, is presenting a more likely real time scenario that is pushed, in part, by Tagerun's Hypothesis.
Disclaimer: I've made some coin in fuel cell stocks this 2020. Lost considerable coin in solar in previous years.
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