Comments on: The Decline of the American Empire http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/06/the-decline-of-the-american-empire/ Energy Action for a Healthy Economy and Clean Environment Sat, 31 Jul 2010 06:03:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: 2009 — A Year We Will Live To Regret :: ASPO-USA: Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/06/the-decline-of-the-american-empire/#comment-3688 2009 — A Year We Will Live To Regret :: ASPO-USA: Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:58:19 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1766#comment-3688 [...] can no longer be an agent of meaningful change. The Vicious Circle of Futility I described in Decline of the American Empire now appears to be a permanent feature of the American landscape. (Figure 5 with the original [...] [...] can no longer be an agent of meaningful change. The Vicious Circle of Futility I described in Decline of the American Empire now appears to be a permanent feature of the American landscape. (Figure 5 with the original [...]

]]> By: heath http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/06/the-decline-of-the-american-empire/#comment-3521 heath Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:59:49 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1766#comment-3521 Debt is the web which holds ot all together. until we break the hold of the central banks we are doomed. everything else is a waste of time. The investor/speculator class has control of our government, instituions, education system, media, medical industries and everything else. whether we are individuals, communities or nations, we are in DEBT. we are being strangled, divided, slaughtered and driven into despair. all of this talk is futile. don't rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. Pay no more tax, pa no more credit cards, remove yourself from all government participation. form communities to grow food, share food and organize. global trade deals bankrupt nations, suck wealth from the middle classes and destroy REAL capital. the real revolution is coming....i hope. by the way. go Vegan. I did. I am 41, lost 20 pounds in three weeks, take NO MEDS, and sleep like a baby. Our dependence on meat/fast food is driving agri companies to stuff cheap corn into beef cattle (E-COLI) and creating endless animal holocausts. it takes 15 pounds of grain to create ONE pound of meat. we ARE the real power but just havent awoken as to how to exercise it x Debt is the web which holds ot all together. until we break the hold of the central banks we are doomed. everything else is a waste of time. The investor/speculator class has control of our government, instituions, education system, media, medical industries and everything else.
whether we are individuals, communities or nations, we are in DEBT. we are being strangled, divided, slaughtered and driven into despair.
all of this talk is futile. don’t rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. Pay no more tax, pa no more credit cards, remove yourself from all government participation.
form communities to grow food, share food and organize.
global trade deals bankrupt nations, suck wealth from the middle classes and destroy REAL capital.

the real revolution is coming….i hope.

by the way. go Vegan. I did. I am 41, lost 20 pounds in three weeks, take NO MEDS, and sleep like a baby. Our dependence on meat/fast food is driving agri companies to stuff cheap corn into beef cattle (E-COLI) and creating endless animal holocausts.
it takes 15 pounds of grain to create ONE pound of meat.

we ARE the real power but just havent awoken as to how to exercise it

x

]]> By: bob http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/06/the-decline-of-the-american-empire/#comment-3440 bob Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:57:55 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1766#comment-3440 Man is stuck within a consciousness of duality.The political economic system the religious institutions in the main and our mind body medicine are supportive of each other and keep us in the ego grasp of duality.Our true evolutionary path is to a consciousness of balance,which is the truth of the cosmic whole.The knowledge that would give you the insight and truth of this path is forbidden better that you remain on prozac hoping that your number comes up and if you're a baby boomer just maybe you'll be dead before the sh--t hits the fan.You won't rebel ,because you don't know who you are ,they made sure of that. They gave you the game of duality left and right good and evil rich and poor and never once told you that the truth of your being was the same truth as the truth of creation. Man is stuck within a consciousness of duality.The political economic system the religious institutions in the main and our mind body medicine are supportive of each other and keep us in the ego grasp of duality.Our true evolutionary path is to a consciousness of balance,which is the truth of the cosmic whole.The knowledge that would give you the insight and truth of this path is forbidden better that you remain on prozac hoping that your number comes up and if you’re a baby boomer just maybe you’ll be dead before the sh–t hits the fan.You won’t rebel ,because you don’t know who you are ,they made sure of that. They gave you the game of duality left and right good and evil rich and poor and never once told you that the truth of your being was the same truth as the truth of creation.

]]> By: Decline of the Empire — Now What? :: ASPO-USA: Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/06/the-decline-of-the-american-empire/#comment-3429 Decline of the Empire — Now What? :: ASPO-USA: Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:53:42 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1766#comment-3429 [...] is now 4 months since I wrote The Decline of the American Empire. The time is ripe for a follow-up. I will tell a sad story first, talk a little about our [...] [...] is now 4 months since I wrote The Decline of the American Empire. The time is ripe for a follow-up. I will tell a sad story first, talk a little about our [...]

]]> By: Review Volatility in Oil Prices: "It's Not Black Or White" - Tundra Solutions Forum http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/06/the-decline-of-the-american-empire/#comment-3099 Review Volatility in Oil Prices: "It's Not Black Or White" - Tundra Solutions Forum Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:00:13 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1766#comment-3099 [...] "It is perfectly understandable why we might feel freaked out in 21st century America. Everything is really screwed up [...] "It is perfectly understandable why we might feel freaked out in 21st century America. Everything is really screwed up

]]> By: Seer http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/06/the-decline-of-the-american-empire/#comment-2841 Seer Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:17:56 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1766#comment-2841 In response to ED's post, I believe what he's saying is that big energy systems aren't the solution. Whether or not that's what he is intending, I do believe that this is the correct view. It's been what, 50 years and NO ONE has yet determined how to handle nuclear waste! Besides, uranium has a finite supply. NOTE: breeder reactors are pretty much hope-technology, also filled with their own externalized costs which will ultimately result in their failure (France, always the model of the nuclear industry, isn't all that rosy if you look under the surface- they are killing their rivers). I encourage people to watch Dr. Albert Bartlett's presentation Arithmetic, Population & Energy (www.guba.com/watch/3000053112) before I will engage in ANY debate on these issues. Not until people understand the fundamentals can we possibly hope to achieve anything remotely resembling stability. On a somewhat side note... The other day I was talking to a fairly intelligent fellow who brought up perpetual motion, claiming that there IS a "solution." I told him that we have already had cheap/free energy- oil and to look what it has done (think Green Revolution, think about how tragic That will turn out as we fail to be able to perpetuate its levels of synthesized nitrogen fertilizers). The problem, I said, was of resource shortages in general, not just energy/oil- there just isn't enough for the world's population to keep on growing (refer to the Dr. Bartlett presentation). Once upon a time I was a big supporter/fan of fusion energy; not only could it provide massive amounts of "free" energy, but it could also be used to recycle EVERYTHING/ANYTHING! I abandoned this view after understanding general/fundamental population growth issues: Food, Shelter and Water- increasing all of these means a crowding out of the natural systems that are responsible for sustaining us. I differ with the author of this article in that I don't believe that we need alternative transportation, don't need MORE rail or to create vastly more efficient vehicles. Why, ask yourself, do we HAVE to move ourselves all over in the first place? We already have plenty of transportation options: bikes, our FEET! Many will counter with: "but how are we going to get all of our 'needed' goods around?" The assumption being that it's all stuff that's needed. Yes, food IS important, but does it really need to come to us from thousands of miles away (even from China!)? With less and less POVs on the road the trucking industry will be saddled with higher road taxes, which then leads to higher retail prices, which then leads to a reduction in other goods, which then leads to increased unemployment, which then leads... well, you get the picture. What we're facing is the unwinding of "economies of scale," and just as this allowed for cheaper goods, Its unwinding will mean a greater-than-linear reversal, drastically costlier goods (think in terms of affordability, not actual $$ numbers). We're today's Easter Islanders. We laugh at their insistence on building statues in the face of decline, yet we continue to increase our insistence on building more (and different) transportation systems. Years from now people will look at all of our monolithic transportation systems and wonder why we'd do such stupid stuff; but of course, we don't think that we're stupid, no, we think that we're vastly more intelligent... I guess that's mankind's curse. In response to ED’s post, I believe what he’s saying is that big energy systems aren’t the solution. Whether or not that’s what he is intending, I do believe that this is the correct view.

It’s been what, 50 years and NO ONE has yet determined how to handle nuclear waste! Besides, uranium has a finite supply. NOTE: breeder reactors are pretty much hope-technology, also filled with their own externalized costs which will ultimately result in their failure (France, always the model of the nuclear industry, isn’t all that rosy if you look under the surface- they are killing their rivers).

I encourage people to watch Dr. Albert Bartlett’s presentation Arithmetic, Population & Energy (www.guba.com/watch/3000053112) before I will engage in ANY debate on these issues. Not until people understand the fundamentals can we possibly hope to achieve anything remotely resembling stability.

On a somewhat side note… The other day I was talking to a fairly intelligent fellow who brought up perpetual motion, claiming that there IS a “solution.” I told him that we have already had cheap/free energy- oil and to look what it has done (think Green Revolution, think about how tragic That will turn out as we fail to be able to perpetuate its levels of synthesized nitrogen fertilizers). The problem, I said, was of resource shortages in general, not just energy/oil- there just isn’t enough for the world’s population to keep on growing (refer to the Dr. Bartlett presentation). Once upon a time I was a big supporter/fan of fusion energy; not only could it provide massive amounts of “free” energy, but it could also be used to recycle EVERYTHING/ANYTHING! I abandoned this view after understanding general/fundamental population growth issues: Food, Shelter and Water- increasing all of these means a crowding out of the natural systems that are responsible for sustaining us.

I differ with the author of this article in that I don’t believe that we need alternative transportation, don’t need MORE rail or to create vastly more efficient vehicles. Why, ask yourself, do we HAVE to move ourselves all over in the first place? We already have plenty of transportation options: bikes, our FEET! Many will counter with: “but how are we going to get all of our ‘needed’ goods around?” The assumption being that it’s all stuff that’s needed. Yes, food IS important, but does it really need to come to us from thousands of miles away (even from China!)? With less and less POVs on the road the trucking industry will be saddled with higher road taxes, which then leads to higher retail prices, which then leads to a reduction in other goods, which then leads to increased unemployment, which then leads… well, you get the picture. What we’re facing is the unwinding of “economies of scale,” and just as this allowed for cheaper goods, Its unwinding will mean a greater-than-linear reversal, drastically costlier goods (think in terms of affordability, not actual $$ numbers).

We’re today’s Easter Islanders. We laugh at their insistence on building statues in the face of decline, yet we continue to increase our insistence on building more (and different) transportation systems. Years from now people will look at all of our monolithic transportation systems and wonder why we’d do such stupid stuff; but of course, we don’t think that we’re stupid, no, we think that we’re vastly more intelligent… I guess that’s mankind’s curse.

]]> By: BARBARA NEVILLE http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/06/the-decline-of-the-american-empire/#comment-2799 BARBARA NEVILLE Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:32:41 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1766#comment-2799 Dear Mr. Cohen, The only reason that I am writing is to encourage you in your writing. Your audience is not as supportive as John Michael Greer's Archdruid Report, but after much inward searching, I absolutely concur with your opening statements. Best wishes!--Ariel Dear Mr. Cohen,

The only reason that I am writing is to encourage you in your writing. Your audience is not as supportive as John Michael Greer’s Archdruid Report, but after much inward searching, I absolutely concur with your opening statements.
Best wishes!–Ariel

]]> By: It’s Not Black Or White :: ASPO-USA: Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/06/the-decline-of-the-american-empire/#comment-2722 It’s Not Black Or White :: ASPO-USA: Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:16:26 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1766#comment-2722 [...] is perfectly understandable why we might feel freaked out in 21st century America. Everything is really screwed up—our cliff-diving economy, our unrepentant, bailed-out financial oligarchy, our overwhelming debt, [...] [...] is perfectly understandable why we might feel freaked out in 21st century America. Everything is really screwed up—our cliff-diving economy, our unrepentant, bailed-out financial oligarchy, our overwhelming debt, [...]

]]> By: Spanish Peaknik http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/06/the-decline-of-the-american-empire/#comment-2648 Spanish Peaknik Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:56:56 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1766#comment-2648 The real debate about nuclear energy is who is going to pay for it. If private investors have to pay for new nukes there won't be any. If the state (all of us) have to pay for it then there is no deregulated energy market anymore (if there was ever one). Also, China is building nukes, yes, a lot of them, in 20 years they will go from 2% of its electricity to 4 or 5%, WOW, problem solved for them! The real debate about nuclear energy is who is going to pay for it. If private investors have to pay for new nukes there won’t be any. If the state (all of us) have to pay for it then there is no deregulated energy market anymore (if there was ever one).

Also, China is building nukes, yes, a lot of them, in 20 years they will go from 2% of its electricity to 4 or 5%, WOW, problem solved for them!

]]> By: Peak Oil = Peak Demand? :: ASPO-USA: Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/06/the-decline-of-the-american-empire/#comment-2644 Peak Oil = Peak Demand? :: ASPO-USA: Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas Fri, 12 Jun 2009 01:37:06 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1766#comment-2644 [...] voted myself off the island—or did I get voted off?—some time ago, I can speak freely about what’s happening in the United States. But CERA successfully plays the insider game. [...] [...] voted myself off the island—or did I get voted off?—some time ago, I can speak freely about what’s happening in the United States. But CERA successfully plays the insider game. [...]

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