I have seen the future, and I doesn't like it.

[green-man-2010.livejournal.com]

Life after the oil crash.
Ok, last time, I went and pinned it on a vid that most people cannot read at work.
So I am letting y'all boot up something you can read quitely when you oght to be working :)

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

In case you have trouble reading graphs, this one has a Blue Peter style 'talk you through the implications' - complete with original sources, for those who wanna check.

It might seem like I am doom mongering , but I just want to say -
Let's put more into Planned Parenthood, make it optional, but make it a damned sight easier at home and abroad.

Let's have oil rationing, sooner rather than later. Let's also have everything rationed if it's made with oil.

let's try to be civilised about the few resources left and share them out among ourselves.

Let's start reducing consumption , reusing things and recycling more.

let's remember that civilisation as we know it will be over by 2050, if it lasts that long.

Comments

[rasilio.livejournal.com]

Indeed. This whole "Oh we must implement severe rationing immediately or we're doomed" is exactly what will cause the catastrophe he's talking about.

Yes, we need to be cognizant that regardless of how much more oil advanced tech will allow us to pull from the ground it will run out and likely sooner than later (sometime in the next 50 - 150 years is most likely when it will start to get really hard to maintain production levels) and begin planning for it.

However, planning is not the same thing as saying "Oh everything we've been doing has been wrong, lets lock 99% of the populace into eternal poverty and go back to the 18th century while instituting draconian controls that will have the effect of killing off huge numbers of 'criminals' in the process", it is investing in new technologies and processes so that they are mature and ready to come on line when oil really starts to get scarce and adopting as many oil saving methods as possible now so we extend that date as long as possible.

[green-man-2010.livejournal.com]

Are you serious ? we need to start reducing in order to give the boffins time to invent and build these starship technologies - they will not be onstream and operational next week, or even next year.
And the population will need weaning off gradually. Eeven then , there may be panics, riots and so forth.

[rasilio.livejournal.com]

Wait, Invent starship technologies?

First the most obvious interim solution has been around for more than 40 years and has been proven far more safe and environmentally sound than Coal or Oil ever tried to pretend to be and yet the Greens oppose it at every turn.

Second there are a half a dozen technologies we have known exactly how to implement since the 60's but could not make them cost competitive with cheap oil, an equation which has been changing somewhat with advances in technology and will change further with more expensive oil.

My personal favorites are Ocean Geothermal and Solar Power Satelites.

Neither of these use new technologies and we have known how to do them for decades in both cases, what has held them back was engineering experience and cost.

The point is there are no "Starship" technologies that need to be developed and the lead time to develop and deploy the technologies at the scale needed is only on the order of 1 - 2 decades at most

[green-man-2010.livejournal.com]

well, TBH, I used the term 'starship tech' as a bit of snark.
i mean , we probably could go and terraform mars before 50 years are up, but that isn't gonna save planet earth.

Ocean Geothermal and SPS are both viable systems - but the ability to deliver the gigawattage needed to replace Oil and coal? I am not sure.

sure, cheap oil has been holding back R&D, and we can expect that to stop.
however, we use gigawatts, and need to scale back. Even in europe, never mind the USA.

[green-man-2010.livejournal.com]

it is investing in new technologies and
processes so that they are mature and ready to come on line when oil
really starts to get scarce and adopting as many oil saving methods as
possible now so we extend that date as long as possible.

I cannot speak for American or Canadian Green Parties, but this is what we advocte in the UK, and over most of Europe where I know how local parties operate.

If you know different , I would certainly liike to see cites that show this.
Googling " Green Party Manifesto" would certainly help.

[rasilio.livejournal.com]

Yeah, those are not the policies of the American Green Party.

Hell they oppose Wind Power half the time because it might kill some birds.