[MattSavinar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('clv101', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MattSavinar', 'A')s far as being out to sell books, anybody notice I have big yellow sign on every page that says:

"Free to all military, all media, and all legislators"

I know of no author who makes that offer. I've given away at least twice the number of books I've sold.

Matt

[Aaron]

There is a certain wisdom that says anything free, lacks certain value to the recipient. For many, (& especially Americans I think), if it does not cost money, how can it be valuable?

I personally hope that Matt, and every other voice pointing to resource depletion, are rewarded for their efforts in attention as well as dollars, enabling them to continue to educate.

While it's true that bundling peak with so called "conspiracy theories" may indeed alienate some readers, it also attracts others. The same is true of a purely scientific approach, which may alienate the conspiracy crowd in some way.

Exploring the unknown is always an exercise of crossing the minefield of ignorance.

I personally tend to doubt most conspiracy theories because of the fervor with with political opponents pursue each other. Any real transgressions are actively sought out on all sides of the spectrum. It would seem a daunting task to conceal serious conspiracy in this climate.

That said, it's always what we don't know, we don't know that is the most critical information.

After all, being paranoid does not mean someone isn't really trying to get you.

[TheSupplyGuy]

I must admit Matt, that your site was the first one I came to about peak oil(found it off of a video game message board, lol). I started reading it and noticed almost instantly that you were selling a book. So of course, I thought, Aha! He's trying to sell a book! But I continued reading, and read everything. And there was a line in that about if people don't believe you, to do a search on google for peak oil. So I did, and I suppose it was at that point when I took the red(?) pill when I saw dozens of websites, but especially the ASPO site. Hey, these guys are respected scientists and professors. There's something wrong here. But as you said, if someone isn't willing to believe in the first place, it doesn't matter what you're doing or saying, they'll find an excuse to discredit you.

[MadScientist]

I dont have anything against young matt. I found his site a great introduction to the issue when I came across it in April.

I still go there occasionally to read the news links.

It has certainly become much more commercialized since April, I would not be as impacted by it now. Especially with the many other free sites gaining content and community.

It is an age of spin. Many people are adept at painting pictures with words to make their particular agenda seem right. Many people are also adept at detecting hidden bias. If your agenda is seen as simply making cash off the latest doom and gloom scenario, you may lose a lot of the potential for good.

IMO, a good noob site is free, basic, and focused.

It's not easy being a celebrity. I hope all the big bucks makes it worth it

[MattSavinar]

The same folks who will dismiss my site because I have a book to sell will then turn around and drop 30 bucks on the latest masterpiece from Ann Coulter.

In other words, I don't want those people to believe anything I say, as I really hope Peak Oil is evolution's way of weeding them out.

Matt

[MattSavinar]

Supply Guy:

For some reason, my site is extremely popular on the video game boards.

Matt

[frankFranchesca]

I don't know.... When I clicked into Matt's site, I didn't think it seemed "pushy" about his book being on sale. He gives away a lot of info right in the site's text--info that's free for reading. Maybe some people who aren't aware that fossil fuels are generally a "finite" resource might feel overwhelmed (and scared) by all the info and dismiss it as hype-advertising for a book. But some of that same info is posted in other places not selling books. Some old basic geology texts might also show concern about oil supplies....

Matt's site didn't shock me in that way: I'm not new to all these ideas as my father was a geology and environmental sciences student in the seventies; he used to drill warnings into my head back then. In college I studied engineering, geology, atmospheric science, space science.... Actually, I seem to remember first hearing the usual more simplistic phrasing of oil as being finite in a junior high school science class, and when I did, I listened. I mean, finite usually means finite. I say "simplistic" not as a slight to the issue, but because it's possible and maybe even likely that the natural processes producing "oil" will still go on widely and are going on widely right now--though the earth may be making very minimal amounts in real time compared to what we humans use, so that won't likely supply us in the short-term. And the short-term is rapidly becoming a concern, in my opinion. Or, in other words, for as long as the earth is around and functioning like the way it has been, oil production inside the earth may not be finite, but oil use will likely be finite for us. Those minimal quantities that might still be produced will likely not be enough and/or very usable for oil gluttons like us. Normally I avoid being dogmatic and like to allow for error/uncertainty/doubt; I keep an "anything is possible"-type attitude, though I think some things are more probable than others, less probable, more likely, less likely, highly unlikely, unlikely, highly likely, minimally likely, neither likely nor unlikely, both likely and unlikely, etc....

BTW, I tried joining up here yesterday afternoon, but never received the confirmation email. Should it be taking this long? Eh, I can just keep posting as I have been--and I don't know how much more I will be posting anyway. I probably should get back to my other writing--I'm being lazy (and cowardly) in avoiding doing so! Oh well.

Keep at it, everyone,

Fran

[frankFranchesca]

"...as I really hope Peak Oil is evolution's way of weeding them out."

--LOL! I've been saying and thinking the same kind of thing about this issue and other more direct environmental issues for years. There would likely be some very positive effects to a massive human die-off, gene-pool wise. Would the very positive effects outweigh the very negative effects? Not sure there and am inclined to think probably not....

But one could make the argument that our seeming penchant for overconsuming resources and destroying ourselves may be built into our "design" somewhat, as might our penchant for easily and widely populating our environment; I think we've done this stuff often enough over the millennia for it to at least seem like these actions are part of who we basically are as a species overall (though it's also possible these things could be more the effects of something else about us and/or this planet than the causes, or are both causes and effects; they could be the products of some other stuff about us and/or our environment, etc.). Maybe all those characteristics have been retained in our societies and in our genetics somewhat because one penchant likely offsets the other. Maybe we are more balanced than many of us may realize....

Fran

[sceptic]

Yes, there's some truth to it. As time goes by, oil and natural gas are going to get harder and harder to find, and they're going to get more expensive. But "Chicken Little" is paranoid and delusional, and the sky is not falling any time soon. Figures indicating that production is going to peak in 2004 or 2007, or that it may have peaked already, are based on incomplete evidence and bad science.

Oil is not made of dinosaurs & old lettuce. The origins of oil are abiotic. Other planets in the Solar System, like Saturn and Jupiter, contain significant amounts of methane. Many near-earth asteroids also contain large proportions of carbon. Just like the rest of our solar system, the primordial matter of Earth itself also undoubtedly contains a significant percentage of carbon -- and petroleum can be formed only in conditions of very high temperature and pressure deep within the earth.

Thus, the availability of oil is ultimately limited by our skills in exploration and drilling, and there are no fundamental limits posed by the number of dinosaurs that lived a hundred million years ago.

There may well be plenty of oil to make Global Warming a reality and make the earth into an overheated, living hell. Or for that matter, to disrupt the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Current, and trigger the next Ice Age. We are playing with forces we don't understand, but not only with fire!

"Peak Oil" is being used to push environmentally destructive drilling of American wilderness preserves. Don't let an artificially created panic shortage, become the instrument for the destruction of the heritage that past environmentalists have been able to save.

[Aaron]

Is there anyone left in here who cares to tackle the abiotic oil debate one more time...

Sorry, I'm all abiotic'ed out.

[Leanan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')orry, I'm all abiotic'ed out.

[PhilBiker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')s there anyone left in here who cares to tackle the abiotic oil debate one more time.

[MattSavinar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('sceptic', 'Y')es, there's some truth to it. As time goes by, oil and natural gas are going to get harder and harder to find, and they're going to get more expensive. But "Chicken Little" is paranoid and delusional, and the sky is not falling any time soon. Figures indicating that production is going to peak in 2004 or 2007, or that it may have peaked already, are based on incomplete evidence and bad science.

Oil is not made of dinosaurs & old lettuce. The origins of oil are abiotic. Other planets in the Solar System, like Saturn and Jupiter, contain significant amounts of methane. Many near-earth asteroids also contain large proportions of carbon. Just like the rest of our solar system, the primordial matter of Earth itself also undoubtedly contains a significant percentage of carbon -- and petroleum can be formed only in conditions of very high temperature and pressure deep within the earth.

Thus, the availability of oil is ultimately limited by our skills in exploration and drilling, and there are no fundamental limits posed by the number of dinosaurs that lived a hundred million years ago.

There may well be plenty of oil to make Global Warming a reality and make the earth into an overheated, living hell. Or for that matter, to disrupt the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Current, and trigger the next Ice Age. We are playing with forces we don't understand, but not only with fire!

"Peak Oil" is being used to push environmentally destructive drilling of American wilderness preserves. Don't let an artificially created panic shortage, become the instrument for the destruction of the heritage that past environmentalists have been able to save.