[MattSavinar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jacksoncage', 'H')ow many pyschology courses did you take in high school? College?

Matt, I've read your site. I've read thousands of sites related to peak oil, global warming and alternative energy. Some are blogs, some are activist sites, and others are the sites of AE/PO/GW-related companies.

I've spent the last four years reading up on all of these different topics. I read your book, Simmons' book, Yergin's book, even Jimmy Kunstler's, and as many others as I could. I even read Al Gore's latest.

I've come to a conclusion. There is jack-shit that I can do about any of this on a global scale. I am condemned to wait, and watch events unfold. I watch the news, I check the settled price of oil, and on my daily walks I see gas prices. I walk around town and see what folks are doing about them.

Every now and then I go the nearest major city and see what people are doing about them there.

And I must say, I walk away impressed. It isn't one singular thing that causes me to be optimistic, it's a constant flow of information and knowledge of my surroundings that tells me that people will adapt. There will be no singular, overnight, cataclysmic switch from oil. These things take time, money and ingenuity. It is often argued that humanity doesn't have much of the first. We shall see. It's fact that many don't personally have much of the second. Whether this becomes a pandemic in America also remains to be seen. It's a given that the third is abundant. We wouldn't have gotten where we are today without it. I remain optimistic, but cautious, having read all of the books I can on these topics which concern our future. Deletion and denial do not enter into my thought process.

[MattSavinar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MonteQuest', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jacksoncage', ' ')These things take time, money and ingenuity. It is often argued that humanity doesn't have much of the first. We shall see. It's fact that many don't personally have much of the second. Whether this becomes a pandemic in America also remains to be seen. It's a given that the third is abundant. .

[Jacksoncage]

Following that logic, a source of energy can be ramped up and implemented to feed a war effort, not unlike the the movement to build the bomb and the development of chemical weapons. First developed for its military application, it could then be distributed to the public.

[MattSavinar]

Not quite. The high EROEI (read: practically free) energy was just sitting there in East Texas in a convenient, dense form waiting to be used.The same cannot be said for what we have today be it in the way of oil, or the alternatives.

If you're thinking was indeed logical, Hitler or Tojo's scientist would have been able to come up with an alternative to the oil they did not possess. The best they could come up with coal-to-oil and that barely kept them functional.

The Germans and the Japanese industries were both known for their efficiency and their industriousness. They were certainly as natively intelligent as AMericans were. And they were just as motivated, if not more so, to beat us then we were to beat them.

What made the difference? Well, we had the oil and they didn't. (And thank God that was the case.)

Best,

Matt

[Graeme]

Matt, Great to correspond with you. Your fame to me is related to the lifeaftertheoilcrash web site, which has dramatically increased the awareness of Peak Oil. For that, you'll be remembered. However, this is really only one possible future. There are an infinite number of them depending on how we all collectively react to changes around us, and who has the greatest influence. I think that a capitalistic society tempered with a socialistic government is the best one to live in, though even this is not perfect. There is always injustice in any society. I've lived in the Philippines for 3 years and experienced poverty there first hand. Images that are still particularly vivid in my mind are a blind man (with empty eye sockets and a flap of skin over a hole in the centre of his face) who played a guitar every day in a public square to earn a living; a legless beggar who pushed himself around on a trolley and asked for food in restaurants; and families of boat people (including elderly women) who dived into the water to catch coins thrown from ferries. Filipinos have strong family ties; that gives them purpose. I have been deeply affected by these experiences. I also read recently an excellent book called Hidden Agendas by John Pilger. He describes beautifully the strong will of people in places like Burma and East Timor to fight back against the enormous injustices thrown at them. That gives them purpose. You, as a lawyer, should understand injustice, and I expect you are assisting those who have been hard done by. The difficulties that people in third-world countries faced are not due to problems associated with energy. The future of the world very much depends on what happens in the United States. We are looking to you for leadership. There are encouraging signs of change and hope. I don't accept that there will be an energy deficit in your country or in mine in future. There is admittedly a potential for a disastrous future but we must try our best to prevent that happening. Consquently, I will never subscribe to your negative views. Why don't you try to paint a more positive future for your country and humanity? That's what would give people purpose to try and strive toward that future.

[MattSavinar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Graeme', '.') However, this is really only one possible future. There are an infinite number of them depending on how we all collectively react to changes around us, and who has the greatest influence. .

[MattSavinar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Graeme', 'W')hy don't you try to paint a more positive future for your country and humanity? That's what would give people purpose to try and strive toward that future.

[MonteQuest]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MattSavinar', ' ')
As far as a purpose, I give it at the bottom of the main page:

1. relocate if you can
2. get your fat ass into shape
3. pay off your debt
4. have people around you who have your back
5. learn a skill you think will have value
6. get your finances into shape

[untothislast]

Suicide and depression are the self-indulgent hallmarks of a society with too much time on its hands. There are people living in countries who have so many real problems ranged against them, that they spend all their waking time just trying to hang on. Yet, they're not trying to kill themselves; gunning down their classmates; or generally feeling life isn't worth living - just because they haven't got SUVs - or have a 'lifestyle' like Paris Hilton.

We're entering a period of re-alignment. It's necessary, and it's been a long time coming.

[aflatoxin]

I would like to submit this addition to Matt's List:

0. Attitude is everything.

I like to look at my day like this: I woke up. That means I still have a pulse. Things could be worse. Let's see what today's challenges will be like.

There are some pretty happy people out there who have no excuse to be upbeat. There are also some some real miserable folk, who by most metrics have the world at their feet.

I also like to think that each person is responsible for their own life. If someone is unhappy, it is not my fault.

Items 2-6 assume the individual has taken responsibility for their own life. Item 1 is really the only random factor.

[Graeme]

Matt, Let's look at this from a slightly different angle. What I'm thinking is something like political or human rights activism. That's where it's possible to initiate change for others not for yourself. Look at the enormous influence people like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr have had on human rights. Don't you think that these people had a positive influence on society? As far as PO is concerned, then I would look to people like Amory Lovins in your country. He has influenced government energy policies not only in your country but many others as well.

[Vexed]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '1'). relocate if you can

[rsch20]

responding to the original post, havent read the rest yet, or whatever got cut out =p

It's an interesting question, the most basic answer is 'because I want to live'. which is true for nearly everyone, things have to get pretty bad before voluntarily choosing to end your existence. which is the only other option from 'carrying on'. if you aren't ready to kill yourself yet then 'carrying on' is the only option whether you are rich or poor.

that said, I've had some rough times in my life and I can't say I've never thought about it, perhaps irrationally, PO is one of the reasons I do 'carry on'. I'm curious enough to see whats going to happen that I'm willing to accept some pretty miserable circumstances in my life to get there.

thats not the only thing though, PO isn't the only threat hanging over us, theres a thread listing some of them, but Omega Point is the most interesting one to me, and I'm very very curious to see if we will go through a technological singularity or not, even if there is only a 1% chance that the singularity happens instead of collapse it's worth sticking around to find out. unless a bus hits me first.

[RonMN]

I call myself a doomer...so why do I continue on?

Simple...

Life might be a bitch...but the alternative is unacceptable!

[MattSavinar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Graeme', 'M')att, Let's look at this from a slightly different angle. What I'm thinking is something like political or human rights activism. That's where it's possible to initiate change for others not for yourself. Look at the enormous influence people like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr have had on human rights. Don't you think that these people had a positive influence on society? As far as PO is concerned, then I would look to people like Amory Lovins in your country. He has influenced government energy policies not only in your country but many others as well.

[MattSavinar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Graeme', 'M')att, Let's look at this from a slightly different angle. What I'm thinking is something like political or human rights activism. That's where it's possible to initiate change for others not for yourself. Look at the enormous influence people like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr have had on human rights. Don't you think that these people had a positive influence on society? .

[SoothSayer]

can't prove a connection, but I strongly suspect there is one.

Interesting post.

The corollary is probably true:

decreasing energy supply -> social unrest -> racial & class conflict

So if a duality exists, your observation is probably correct:

energy availability allows ... and may even encourage ... improved social cohesion.

[MattSavinar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SoothSayer', '[')b] can't prove a connection, but I strongly suspect there is one.

Interesting post.

The corollary is probably true:

decreasing energy supply -> social unrest -> racial & class conflict

So if a duality exists, your observation is probably correct:

energy availability allows ... and may even encourage ... improved social cohesion.

[MattSavinar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SoothSayer', '[')b] can't prove a connection, but I strongly suspect there is one.

Interesting post.

The corollary is probably true:

decreasing energy supply -> social unrest -> racial & class conflict

So if a duality exists, your observation is probably correct:

energy availability allows ... and may even encourage ... improved social cohesion.

[SoothSayer]

Matt, you are talking too much sense here! It's certainly too high brow!



Stop it immediately - we need to get back to talking about 9/11 conspiracies and how to defend our homes with 50-cal machine guns!