[markam]

I have been doing various experiments discussing PO on other topic forums, just to see the results. I am also curious as to other experiences people may have had discussing PO issues in off-topic forums.

Political forum - conservative. Overwhelmingly, any discussion of PO is perceived to be a liberal plot, because liberals hate America and want america to collapse. In their mind, oil is plentiful and market forces will easily replace oil when the price gets high enough.

Political forum - liberal. Most people are in agreement that oil is near to peaking. However, a substantial minority still believe that it is government/big oil that is the source of high oil prices, and most people still believe that it will be easy to reduce/replace oil usage.

Home theater - This one was a pleasant surprise. Many HT people have an engineering/technical background, so a high percentage are already aware of and well informed about PO issues and what may happen. Most of the rest are open minded and willing to discuss issues.

Precious metals - These people are nuttier than the PO people. Most believe in PO, but a high percentage are off-the-scale conspiracy nuts. The level of technical understanding of PO issues is very low, and many believe in water gas, zero point energy, etc.

Coin collecting - Got flamed pretty good when I suggested that their coin collections could be worth bullion value in the near future. Got the usual responses of liberal plot, plenty of oil, easy substitutes, rare coins will always be valuable, etc. Very much the expected result, but I thought at least some of the people would at least acknowledge that the value of their hobby is solely dependent upon a large number of hobbiests, and a lot of free time and money. These people are going to be very sad when they realize that a coin that cost them hundreds or thousands of dollars is worth $20 for its bullion value.

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('markam', 'T')hese people are going to be very sad when they realize that a coin that cost them hundreds or thousands of dollars is worth $20 for its bullion value.

[markam]

I never understood how stamps could be worth anything.

[NeoPeasant]

There's a guy in Utah who started up a blog to advocate a new billion dollar freeway. Much to his frustration I became his only regular poster (posting as google_PEAK_OIL), continuously pointing out that building new freeways was quite pointless due to peak oil. he hasn't posted since May.

Mountain View Corridor

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Laughs_Last', 'S')o then my giant ball of string will only be worth its weight in string? Noooooooooo!

[Lighthouse]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Laughs_Last', 'S')o then my giant ball of string will only be worth its weight in string? Noooooooooo!

[jdumars]

someday that ball of string could be worth its weight in silver.

[Tyler_JC]

Generally speaking, any thread that has at least 50% of its content discussing balls of string should be immediately deleted.

Just a warning.

And if this doesn't somehow become more about Peak Oil and less about trolling on other webpages, Monte will be forced to move it into the Open Forum.

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', 'G')enerally speaking, any thread that has at least 50% of its content discussing balls of string should be immediately deleted.

[Tyler_JC]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rogerhb', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', 'G')enerally speaking, any thread that has at least 50% of its content discussing balls of string should be immediately deleted.

[SchroedingersCat]

String may be the most important aspect of peak oil. After all, we are being strung along by TPTB about how there is no problem the market can't fix. Don't forget the 'leaders' who will be strung up when the masses understand the problem. Of course, if we give the leaders enough rope...

Then there is the way that all the big crises are entwined: peak oil, overshoot, AGW. And the fact that our way of life is hanging by a thread.

String is useful stuff indeed.

[JoeCoal]

So, if we get a bunch of kittens to play with the ball of string, they will cause it to roll around perpetually and generate sufficient energy to alleviate Peak Oil. At least until naptime, that is...

[emersonbiggins]

I've been posting on railroad.net (feel free to jump in!) in the Amtrak forum and going at it with a couple of posters over the validity of a publicly funded rail system vis-a-vis the airline and highway system. I've explained our car fetish as far back as the assessed legality of single-use zoning, so at least I could point the finger at someone for something. I've suggested that we're hitting peak, and so far no one has disputed it, other than the usual "electric cars will save us" bullshit.

One guy keeps pointing out this car-based monorail, or a "Rapid Urban Flexible," as he likes to call it. He seems to think it is a solution for a marooned suburbia. It doesn't exist outside of a rendering, though - hard to defend that.