more scary stuff

[Atrocities]

Here is some information about what we can expect in the future as our rights dwindle, the cause will be clear.

LINK

I don't recall the mathmatican whos seminar talked about this, but he explains it very clearly then, this web page does a nice job of simplifying what he said. I know I posted about this before, I just don't recall the thread as it was nearly a year ago.

[geoschmo]

Atrocities, not sure if you realize it but you posted a link to the same page that Loser did a few Posts before.

[AMF]

I feel it's wise to stay away from the political aspects of this discussion, since I have strong political views.

But, I wanted to comment on the linked document: it seems a pretty standard Malthusian argument and is hence susceptible to the vulnerabilities that it was. Its been a long time, but IIRC Malthus was unable to account for the effect of technology. He predicted the same thing but talked about food (grows mathematically) v. population (grows geometrically). The two are, by their nature, out of sync so he predicted the human race would have chaos, mass wars and die offs, sometime around the 1900s I think.

See also the modern Versions re: growth of the world' food supply (Lester Brown) v. the Green Revolution boosters.

So...a healthy starting point would perhaps be to discuss the role of technology in overcoming the problems the "peak oil" guy warns about. Maybe he does in the article, I haven't read it all the way through...

I'm gonna get away from this topic now, lest I start talking politics.

thanks,

Alarik

Originally posted by Atrocities:
Here is some information about what we can expect in the future as our rights dwindle, the cause will be clear.

LINK

I don't recall the mathmatican whos seminar talked about this, but he explains it very clearly then, this web page does a nice job of simplifying what he said. I know I posted about this before, I just don't recall the thread as it was nearly a year ago.

[Shrapnel]

I found the "Peak Oil" article ... interesting.

I found the "New Energy" comments more interesting though. That is a field that has so much potential if the proper funding and attention could be given it.

Not enough money to make in it yet though

[Fyron]

Originally posted by Loser:
You think that's scary, check this out.

Fear?
No thanks, I'm trying to cut back.

Comedic gold.

[Loser]

Thanks, Fyron.

[Litcube]

That oil-peak essay reads like penis-enlargement spam.

[Litcube]

[ February 11, 2004, 19:24: Message edited by: Litcube ]

[President_Elect_Shang]

Very good article, finally it has been put into proper perspective. No offense to anyone here but from real life experience I have heard one after another person say; �We will run out of oil�. As this article paints it the fact is we will never run out of oil, it will just become so expensive to retrieve and sell that very few if any will want to buy it. As for my personal outlook I won�t say, the fact is none of use are 100 percent certain of how much oil is in the Russian fields, under Siberia, etc. I will caution that no one knows for certain because it is still by far cheaper to capitulate to the demands of OPEC than it is to try and find and drill some of the above sources, thankfully not all of them�yet.

[Loser]

It does have an unconvincing rhythm and tone. I doubt it for reasons other than that, but that's the one that really calms my irrational mind that is so eager to panic.

He also takes any possible objection and turns them to his cause, alternately saying that Bush is in favor of conserving oil and that Bush is desperately trying to waste oil.

Additionally, he mentions 'New Energy' in a positive light. Being heavy on physics myself I've read up on this 'New Energy' and it's a bunch of bunk (I know some of you disagree, feel free to "Bring it!"). He's only mentioning this in such a light so that he can appear sympathetic to the fringers that are his target audience anyway. To me, this draws strongly away from his credibility.

Almost none of the oh-so-important and convincing quotes have any sort of notes by which they could be confirmed or denied. Same goes for the 'facts'. Any that have links tend to be links to other sites which also lack proper documentation. Standard fringe fare.

Lastly, on a purely personal note, I still have hopes for fusion. The author's treatment of fission is atrocious and inaccurate, and he completely ignores fusion. The first reactors will take fortunes to build and decades to get running, but they will power vast fractions of a continent.

In closing:

• Keep breathing
• We'll see
• Always be sure to drink plenty of water