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Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agendas

What's on your mind?
General interest discussions, not necessarily related to depletion.

Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby abbcampbell » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 11:46:46

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NTBKtrader', 'S')ome mornings I look at the front page and I can't find any news stories to do with peak oil. It's all climate change global warming business news..............peakoil.com is becoming the place NOT to go for insightful peak oil info and that is a fact.


I wonder whether that's because of lack of news? If so, there's not much to do about it...the alternative is seeing the same news we saw yesterday.

Personally, I don't mind the busines or c/c news. The climate change stuff will support the same sort of action many of us would like to see. The business stuff often is peak oil news if you read between the lines.
Unless someone, like you,
cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better.
It's not.
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby Leanan » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 11:48:52

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')ome mornings I look at the front page and I can't find any news stories to do with peak oil. It's all climate change global warming business news..............peakoil.com is becoming the place NOT to go for insightful peak oil info and that is a fact.


We're not reporters. All we do is post links to stories that are in the media. When oil prices go down, there are a lot less stories about peak oil. When oil prices are up and rising, there are a lot more.
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby Pops » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 12:53:06

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hotsacks', 'C')rises bring out the weekend warriors and ratings go up.The long term 'grinders' here have realized the crisis isn't going away,and its' implications are many and far.Including,and maybe especially,the political fallout.


There are 14 million hits for the words Peak Oil on Google, 2 million for “Peak Oil” – PO.com is number 4 on both searches; not a bad position.

Then Look at this chart:

And Compare to this chart

Some of the first posts here mentioned the Bumpy Plateau and the Long Slide. Overnight Armageddon is the mainstay of the collapse junkie who jumps from Planet X to Ebola to Black Helicopter invasion to PO as the trigger De Jour. I admit to a little jumpiness myself this past year and I was one of the early posters on the bumpy slide.

But, I suppose the folks who have no political opinions are probably too self-absorbed to pay much attention to PO no matter the presentation.
The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities.
-- Abraham Lincoln, Fragment on Government (July 1, 1854)
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby oowolf » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 18:29:53

Is there a PO-centered political movement or party? Is there a concerted social movement devoted primarily to escaping the squirrel cage of unsustainable existence? Something beyond green yuppie cosmeticism? Is there a political party devoted to the elimination of that artificial necessity the automobile. Is there a general awareness that the private automobile is one of the greatest threats to human existence-that the car has killed more Americans in the last 50 years than all the wars, terrorist attacks, and flu pandemics combined?

How many of you PO aware folks-who KNOW your lifestyle is unsustainable have radically altered the way you live (Beyond the few lifeboat-builders over in the "Planning" section)?
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby hotsacks » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 19:32:00

[quote="oowolf"

How many of you PO aware folks-who KNOW your lifestyle is unsustainable have radically altered the way you live (Beyond the few lifeboat-builders over in the "Planning" section)?[/quote][QUOTE]

Me.
I did.
I've pierced the seventh veil and seen the light. I'm a biodiesel sniffin',greenhouse growin',community acting,recycling son of a bitch.My nonconsumptive virtues are innumerable.I weep at the sight of Amory Lovins' commandments.Soon I will learn to sing to my tomatoes...
Really,I don't think I'm changing the world by powering down.Many people I admire live McMuchly and make far greater contributions to our overall well being than I do.
It's going to take more than a simple living jihad to turn this ship around.
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby Aaron » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 19:51:01

I blogged something like this thread some time ago actually.
The problem is, of course, that not only is economics bankrupt, but it has always been nothing more than politics in disguise... economics is a form of brain damage.

Hazel Henderson
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby NTBKtrader » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 20:03:26

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', '
')But, I suppose the folks who have no political opinions are probably too self-absorbed to pay much attention to PO no matter the presentation.


Lets get this straight are you implying that politicians and lobbyists are somehow not self-absorbed and altruistic? and somehow the opposites (which i assume means politicians and lobbyists) will pay attention to the issue?
Last edited by NTBKtrader on Fri 02 Dec 2005, 20:08:26, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby NTBKtrader » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 20:07:08

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', 'I') blogged something like this thread some time ago actually.


yep! and I think this kinda sums it up "some.. were "piggy-backing" on the Peak Oil buzzword as a method of promoting their own agenda... "
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby aflurry » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 20:35:39

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('abbcampbell', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('aflurry', 'S')o by nature, centrism is ill equiped to address the issue. If a centrist were to use centrist language to descibe Peak Oil, they would either not be faithful to the problem or they would cease to be a centrist.


I must have expressed myself badly, since it seems most folks have misunderstood what I had hoped to say. My apologies.

I don't recommend expressing the problem in a centrist manner, any more than in any other political manner. I recommend (in introductory material) stating it as neutrally and scientifically as humanly possible, and either not expressing any solutions, or alternately expressing as fairly as we can, all solutions we've heard of, to show that this problem is not owned by one group or another, but by all mankind, and that while solutions may be political in nature, the problem itself is not....it is geological and physical.


No, I think it was me not expressing my thoughts clearly by trying to be too cute with language. What I mean to say is that one of the characteristics of the idea of peak oil is it's extremism. That is, peak oil is not only a theory of the geological elements of the peak in oil production, but also of the catastrophic impact of that event on economics and politics. You have to expand your analysis beyond the purely geological to capture the full impact of the theory, and as soon as you do, the scope of the catastrophe constitutes an indictment of the political/economic paradigm which got us there (here?). Since the bread and butter of extremist politics is criticism of this paradigm, they are a more natural fit for the peak oil theorist. Since the centrist, qua centrist, basically built the paradigm, he or she is more likey implicated in the criticism.
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby aflurry » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 20:39:54

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dissimulo', 'G')ood luck getting politics (or opinions) out of anything.


I can't even get it out of the lint screen of my clothes dryer.


I personally believe whites and coloreds should mix...

... thank you. I'll be here all week.
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby aflurry » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 20:45:58

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Doly', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('The_Toecutter', '
')Just adressing the fuel cars use(through massive public transit, reduction in car use, and cars that don't need gas) cuts 40% of America's oil consumption. You haven't touched jet fuel, lubricants, asphalt, propane, petroleum distillates, plastics, and many of the other key items oil is used to produce.


This point is often forgotten by doomers. Get rid of the car, you get rid of almost half the problem.


as well as most of the industry that keeps the economy churning. i think it's a little more complicated than just that.
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby Pops » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 21:25:47

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NTBKtrader', ' ')
Lets get this straight are you implying that politicians and lobbyists are somehow not self-absorbed and altruistic? and somehow the opposites (which i assume means politicians and lobbyists) will pay attention to the issue?


Naw, folks that are self-absorbed don’t even waste time on wondering if, or how, the lights come on – let alone what would happen if the lights didn’t work. That goes for politicians or peons.

Politicians are a mirror of their constituents - no worse, no better. I guess the option is to vote for different candidates.



BTW how does altruism and self-absorption correlate? I kind of had the idea they were somewhat opposite but perhaps I’m missing your point.
The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities.
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby NTBKtrader » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 22:29:47

I was taking your self absorbed as meaning selfishness and that being involved in politics means not being self-absorbed/selfish. What I think you mean though is people are too narrowly focused to see the big picture and/or what matters more or their grey matter simply doesn't grasp it all and how it effects them or they simply don't care... I am buzzed right now so hopefully im articulating well enough :)

Anyway, I think we're getting off topic.

I did see those charts and obviously there is a correlation however if other political movements piggyback on peak oil it may not become universally accepted which I think will hurt the cause of educating and getting everyone on the same page.

It's like a lot of environmentalists..I know quite a few conservatives/average joe types that have strong environmental tendencies but they don't participate as much because for example a lot of environmentalists are peta fruitcakes or hard core gay marriage rights activists and it turns most normal people off because they don't want to swallow the "package deal".
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby hotsacks » Fri 02 Dec 2005, 22:43:21

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('aflurry', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('abbcampbell', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('aflurry', 'S')o by nature, centrism is ill equiped to address the issue. If a centrist were to use centrist language to descibe Peak Oil, they would either not be faithful to the problem or they would cease to be a centrist.


I must have expressed myself badly, since it seems most folks have misunderstood what I had hoped to say. My apologies.

I don't recommend expressing the problem in a centrist manner, any more than in any other political manner. I recommend (in introductory material) stating it as neutrally and scientifically as humanly possible, and either not expressing any solutions, or alternately expressing as fairly as we can, all solutions we've heard of, to show that this problem is not owned by one group or another, but by all mankind, and that while solutions may be political in nature, the problem itself is not....it is geological and physical.


No, I think it was me not expressing my thoughts clearly by trying to be too cute with language. What I mean to say is that one of the characteristics of the idea of peak oil is it's extremism. That is, peak oil is not only a theory of the geological elements of the peak in oil production, but also of the catastrophic impact of that event on economics and politics. You have to expand your analysis beyond the purely geological to capture the full impact of the theory, and as soon as you do, the scope of the catastrophe constitutes an indictment of the political/economic paradigm which got us there (here?). Since the bread and butter of extremist politics is criticism of this paradigm, they are a more natural fit for the peak oil theorist. Since the centrist, qua centrist, basically built the paradigm, he or she is more likey implicated in the criticism.
[QUOTE]

True ,and clear.
Humpty (centrist)Dumpty sat on a wall...
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby CARVER » Sun 04 Dec 2005, 17:02:25

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NTBKtrader', '.').. I did see those charts and obviously there is a correlation however if other political movements piggyback on peak oil it may not become universally accepted which I think will hurt the cause of educating and getting everyone on the same page.

It's like a lot of environmentalists..I know quite a few conservatives/average joe types that have strong environmental tendencies but they don't participate as much because for example a lot of environmentalists are peta fruitcakes or hard core gay marriage rights activists and it turns most normal people off because they don't want to swallow the "package deal".

I posted something about this here.

From The Future of Money by Bernard Lietaer:$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he size of the numbers of Cultural Creatives which have appeared out of the woodwork in less than one generation may be surprising to many. It certainly surprised me. Even people who are part of this subculture consider themselves to be isolated exceptions.
Two reasons converge to create that impression of isolation:
- there is no organization that identifies them;
- there is no media mirror.

No organization
One of the main reasons for its relative invisibility is that this subculture has not spawned a mass political party, a mass religious movement, or even a separately identifiable publication market. Cultural Creatives are by definition eclectics who pick and chosse as their interests lead them, from mainstream to marginal publications, national as well as foreign. So there is no place or group where they actually meet and be counted.

No mirror
Even more important, the mass media and the political debate, our mirrors in society, are still completely immersed in the Modernist subculture, and almost exclusively reflect that viewpoint. Whenever they refer to the subculture of the Cultural Creatives, they tend to present as typical a caricature of the whole group: the marginal fringe of 'New Agers', who present less than 2% of the population (four million addults). So even when this is reflected, the majority of the 44 million Cultural Creatives do not recognize themselves in this image either.
This invisibility - even to the members themselves - may be the most unusual feature of this new subculture.
...
So whenever the socio-political reality of these trends finally sinks in, we can expect a much swifter shift than when Modernism was born.
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby threadbear » Sun 04 Dec 2005, 17:48:37

NBTK Trader, So you think Peak Oil should somehow be packaged to be palatable for "normal" people? That's a tall order, no that's short order. No, wait. That order is exactly 5 ' 10".

Carver, It sounds like cultural creatives eschew the rudimentary basics of a sub-culture. So if it's composed of individuals who wish to remain so, in what sense is it actually a sub-culture?

I find it interesting that the author Lietaur describes New Agers as a small minority. In my neck of the woods, they're a good 50% of the population.
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby MonteQuest » Mon 05 Dec 2005, 01:34:42

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Doly', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('The_Toecutter', '
')Just adressing the fuel cars use(through massive public transit, reduction in car use, and cars that don't need gas) cuts 40% of America's oil consumption. You haven't touched jet fuel, lubricants, asphalt, propane, petroleum distillates, plastics, and many of the other key items oil is used to produce.


This point is often forgotten by doomers. Get rid of the car, you get rid of almost half the problem.


And one out of every six jobs. Sorry, the one thing that the...as you call them... "doomers" I know don't forget is the "Big Picture." That is a province saved for the cornucopians, it seems.

I've written a thread on it:

The Big Picture
A Saudi saying, "My father rode a camel. I drive a car. My son flies a jet-plane. His son will ride a camel."
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby MicroHydro » Mon 05 Dec 2005, 02:45:03

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NTBKtrader', 'I') know quite a few conservatives/average joe types that have strong environmental tendencies but they don't participate as much because for example a lot of environmentalists are peta fruitcakes or hard core gay marriage rights activists and it turns most normal people off because they don't want to swallow the "package deal".


Yep, the average 'Merican is more worried about gay marriage than the depletion of the resource base for their economy or the poisoning of their environment.$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'Y')es Ward, I am worried about the MTBE in Anderson Reservoir. But we can't go the the environmentalist meeting, there might be some of those ghastly vegetarians or same sex couples there! Better to just stay at home and buy bottled water.


A society with such attitudes has richly earned its self destruction
"The world is changed... I feel it in the water... I feel it in the earth... I smell it in the air... Much that once was, is lost..." - Galadriel
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby Flow » Mon 05 Dec 2005, 02:48:20

The problem is that most Peak Oilers come off as a bunch of enviromental wacko's that can't wait to get back to the good old days when we stop killing Mother Earth.

The other problem, all of the bogus preditions made in the past that have not come true. It is like the story of the boy that cried wolf. Eventually, nobody will believe it until it is too late

I think the best thing that could be done is to say we have 20-30 years until oil peaks as per the EIA and USGS. Give people hope that we can develop alternatives that will sustain our lives (even if it is B.S. and you don't believe it) but also get the message out that if we don't start ASAP it will all be for not.

The message of "No matter what we do, we are screwed" or "Peak Oil is 5 years away, we are screwed" does not help anything. By giving people hope, they will be much more likely to accept it than by going the other way.
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Re: Peak Oil Risks Losing Credibility Because of Pol. Agenda

Postby peaker_2005 » Mon 05 Dec 2005, 03:31:44

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Flow', 'T')he problem is that most Peak Oilers come off as a bunch of enviromental wacko's that can't wait to get back to the good old days when we stop killing Mother Earth.

The other problem, all of the bogus preditions made in the past that have not come true. It is like the story of the boy that cried wolf. Eventually, nobody will believe it until it is too late

I think the best thing that could be done is to say we have 20-30 years until oil peaks as per the EIA and USGS. Give people hope that we can develop alternatives that will sustain our lives (even if it is B.S. and you don't believe it) but also get the message out that if we don't start ASAP it will all be for not.

The message of "No matter what we do, we are screwed" or "Peak Oil is 5 years away, we are screwed" does not help anything. By giving people hope, they will be much more likely to accept it than by going the other way.


The problem with this is that while it might convince the population, the government will be happy to acknowledge that it's "not their problem" and pass it on to the next government, who pass it on, who pass it on, and so forth, which is exactly why we've gotten nowhere to date.

Realistically what one would need to do is that you have to tell the Government it's within their term to convince them to even do ANYTHING, but that you have to tell the public that it's some time away. The issue there is that the Government will leak eventually, and someone spreads the word and we're back to square one, with mass paranoia, end of world meetings etc.
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