|
|
Post by Willing Sniper on Feb 9, 2013 15:44:28 GMT -8
| Will The End of Oil Mean The End of America? |
| by Robert Freeman |
| |
| In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig tells the story of a South American Indian tribe that has devised an ingenious monkey trap. The Indians cut off the small end of a coconut and stuff it with sweetmeats and rice. They tether the other end to a stake and place it in a clearing. Soon, a monkey smells the treats inside and comes to see what it is. It can just barely get its hand into the coconut but, stuffed with booty, it cannot pull the hand back out. The Indians easily walk up to the monkey and capture it. Even as the Indians approach, the monkey screams in horror, not only in fear of its captors, but equally as much, one imagines, in recognition of the tragedy of its own lethal but still unalterable greed. Pirsig uses the story to illustrate the problem of value rigidity. The monkey cannot properly evaluate the relative worth of a handful of food compared to its life. It chooses wrongly, catastrophically so, dooming itself by its own short-term fixation on a relatively paltry pleasure.
America has its own hand in a coconut, one that may doom it just as surely as the monkey. That coconut is its dependence on cheap oil in a world where oil will soon come to an end. The choice we face (whether to let the food go or hold onto it) is whether to wean ourselves off of oil, or to quickly evolve a new economy and a new basis for civilization, or to continue to secure stable supplies from the rest of the world by force. As with Pirsig's monkey, the alternative consequences of each choice could not be more dramatic. Weaning ourselves off of cheap oil, while not easy, will help ensure the vitality of the American economy and the survival of its political system. Choosing the route of force will almost certainly destroy the economy and doom America's short experiment in democracy. To date, we have chosen the second alternative: to secure oil by force. The evidence of its consequences are all around us. They include the titanic US budget and trade deficits funding a gargantuan, globally-deployed military and the Patriot Act and its starkly anti-democratic rescissions of civil liberties. There is little time left to change this choice before its consequences become irreversible.
www.commondreams.org/views04/0301-12.htm
|
|
|
|
|
Post by kpad1 on Feb 10, 2013 2:48:43 GMT -8
i think it's already too late...the perfect storm is already forming...it's only a matter of time...
|
|
|
|
Post by Willing Sniper on Feb 10, 2013 8:57:29 GMT -8
It is surely this kind of article that contributes toward the preservation of the benightedness of mainstream Western consciousness. It's not really that mainstream. Actually Americans are far more progressive (liberal) on the whole. It's just that the monied few, and their brainwashed hoard dominate the conversation. They have the assets to buy off the government. And the multinational corporations have no compunction about driving us all into the abyss in their endless, grasping, clutching, greedy pursuit of ever increasing profit. |
|
|
|
Post by Willing Sniper on Feb 10, 2013 9:15:57 GMT -8
He would be instantly assassinated. It's the same shit globally.
|
|
|
|
Post by Willing Sniper on Feb 10, 2013 9:58:59 GMT -8
The problem is that any invention that is not dependent on the oil industry is either bought and shelved by the oil industry, or regulated out of existence by it's political reach. Most of us were brought up in the oil age, and see all of its trappings ans the norm.
The corporatists have the means to flood the media, control governments, and turn public opinion.
It does fall in their laps. Most people are not sophisticated enough to see the man behind the curtain.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2013 10:00:54 GMT -8
"Most people are not sophisticated enough to see the man behind the curtain."
Nor do they want to.
|
|
|
|
Post by Willing Sniper on Feb 10, 2013 10:02:23 GMT -8
Are any of you willing to fight for a change?
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2013 10:02:58 GMT -8
Not if it means sacrifice.
|
|
|
|
Post by Willing Sniper on Feb 10, 2013 10:04:01 GMT -8
Not if it means sacrifice. Ultimately it will mean more sacrifice. |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2013 10:06:29 GMT -8
Not if it means sacrifice. Ultimately it will mean more sacrifice. Well forget it then. I'm not giving up my Monster truck and my Olds 442. |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2013 10:20:11 GMT -8
It does fall in their laps. Most people are not sophisticated enough to see the man behind the curtain. That might be true but they don't need to see the man behind the curtain, they just need to adjust their manner of living so as not to fund his exploits so profusely. I don't believe Americans will do so willingly. It will have to be a forced decision and who is going to do that when it infringes on the capitalist system? |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2013 10:44:16 GMT -8
"Mel Gibson was really hot in MM1&2 not so hot in 3 " True that. :  |
|
|
|
Post by Willing Sniper on Feb 10, 2013 11:00:23 GMT -8
It does fall in their laps. Most people are not sophisticated enough to see the man behind the curtain. That might be true but they don't need to see the man behind the curtain, they just need to adjust their manner of living so as not to fund his exploits so profusely. The problem here is this: Our worldwide population is dependent on petrochemicals. Medicine Fertilizers Plastics Transportation Refrigeration Defense Communications This didn't happen by accident. It happened by corporate model. The entire world will go ass up. The population will drop off dramatically due to lack of food and medicines. War will be rampant. There are so many of our global systems that will crumble. And at this point many of the things that will help if allowed to develop alongside the oil monopoly, are being quashed by that same monopoly. |
|
|
|
Post by Willing Sniper on Feb 10, 2013 12:44:18 GMT -8
Isa we can't even get something as basic as High Speed Rail here due to it being blocked by the petrochemical lackeys in our government. It would impact their bottom line due to cutting away at air travel.
It's fucking stupid
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2013 13:28:22 GMT -8
Isa we can't even get something as basic as High Speed Rail here due to it being blocked by the petrochemical lackeys in our government. It would impact their bottom line due to cutting away at air travel. It's f__king stupid The oil companies being as powerful as they are will not release their hold, why should they? Until the bitter end I suppose it will be. |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2013 16:33:58 GMT -8
I think we have the opportunity to help ourselves not get caught in another return to dependence once we do switch to something else. If we take a cue from our pioneer fathers, the new deal infrastructure, and our new example newly developing countries taking the new tech and making a new, and I would hope adaptive, infrastructure. My truest hope is someone big says what I have been thinking and that we can do it now with a concert of ideas. Wind, Solar, Hydrogen Fuel cell, Hydrodynamic, piezoelectric, get these puppies working together to light, the nation. Windmills on every house, even a little wind is good wind, Why not line the highways as well the passing vehicles create a localized wind channel. while talking about highways. Lets tile those things to make it easier to fix potholes, and use the tiles to update tech as it advances. We could even embed magnets in the tiles and have smart roads. Maybe bury power lines to reduce icy outages, and other weather related outages. bury those in a channel under the road. roads already go everywhere we need power lines. There is flooring in the train station in New York that uses piezoelectric laminate that produces enough power, by the walking of the people, to take care of their entire electric needs. Put that into the tiles and produce more power. I have several crazy idea's as well on somethings. I get a bit peeved at the oil companies pricing us and making insane profits(B$). But in the long run the proof of loss of volume to the reserves is there we have topped the bell curve and are on the major decline in what is and will be available. |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2013 17:45:08 GMT -8
I think we have the opportunity to help ourselves not get caught in another return to dependence once we do switch to something else. If we take a cue from our pioneer fathers, the new deal infrastructure, and our new example newly developing countries taking the new tech and making a new, and I would hope adaptive, infrastructure. My truest hope is someone big says what I have been thinking and that we can do it now with a concert of ideas. Wind, Solar, Hydrogen Fuel cell, Hydrodynamic, piezoelectric, get these puppies working together to light, the nation. Windmills on every house, even a little wind is good wind, Why not line the highways as well the passing vehicles create a localized wind channel. while talking about highways. Lets tile those things to make it easier to fix potholes, and use the tiles to update tech as it advances. We could even embed magnets in the tiles and have smart roads. Maybe bury power lines to reduce icy outages, and other weather related outages. bury those in a channel under the road. roads already go everywhere we need power lines. There is flooring in the train station in New York that uses piezoelectric laminate that produces enough power, by the walking of the people, to take care of their entire electric needs. Put that into the tiles and produce more power. I have several crazy idea's as well on somethings. I get a bit peeved at the oil companies pricing us and making insane profits(B$). But in the long run the proof of loss of volume to the reserves is there we have topped the bell curve and are on the major decline in what is and will be available. I'd love to hear more of your crazy ideas shew. I can't understand why houses are being built that are not at all taking advantage of solar power or even catching rain water...the simplest of things. |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2013 18:04:56 GMT -8
I have a dream home plan. 40 semi-wooded acres, on a hill with a spring. A countainer house with grey water recycling, a green roof. ![http://www.dwell.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/hill-container-studio-exterior-view-from-above.jpg?itok=7HtkvUNR]() Install a windmill at the crest to catch the updrafts. Install a hydrodynamic generator in the spring run to produce more power. Install a solar set to again augment power production. All the lighting being dc led. Switch to full dc. Know how many transformers you can loose that way? Most modern electronic devices already run dc by having inline to, in device, transformers drawing steady ac to convert even when off. |
|
|
|
Post by Crusher on Apr 22, 2013 22:07:28 GMT -8
Eagle Ford Shale,anyone?
|
|
|
|
Post by Willing Sniper on Apr 22, 2013 22:15:42 GMT -8
All that shit is so dirty. It's time to move on. Or at least move in a couple of new directions
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2013 6:51:47 GMT -8
indeed oil shale fracking is a dangerous new direction and is not a answer in the longrun just a stop gap for now.
|
|
|
|
Post by Crusher on Apr 23, 2013 12:36:54 GMT -8
Fracking has been going on for decades.
|
|
|
|
Post by Willing Sniper on Apr 23, 2013 12:37:57 GMT -8
Still dirty
|
|
|
|
Post by Willing Sniper on Apr 23, 2013 12:40:13 GMT -8
What is with the propensity to cling to oil? I don't get why I see people defend it with such unbridled fervor.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2013 14:26:08 GMT -8
Even if we wean ourselves off of combustion, we are going to have a need for plastics, lubricants, medicines and other petroleum based products. The more we use to fuel large gas hogging vehicle and our greed to not learn new ways to do things means less and less to use later.
When the average man realizes that there is more bhp for electric and we develop longer range for batteries.
Course a 120 mile range is more than most will ever use.
|
|
|
|
Post by Willing Sniper on May 2, 2013 8:56:50 GMT -8
What's even sadder is that combustion is so inefficient. Only 20% of the power generated gets used for motion.
That's precisely why locomotives are so efficient. They only use diesel to produce energy to power the electric motors.
The commercial: "A locomotive can move 1 ton of freight 450 miles on one gallon of fuel"
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 2, 2013 12:43:09 GMT -8
You don't want to get me started on trains... I am a trainspotter. I love all trains. I live just up the road from a train yard 47 side by side tracks. I often watch them shuffle the cars around and set up the engines for the mountain climbs. Have you seen the low engines now? For assisted hill climbing power and added braking.
|
|
