by TonyPrep » Sun 10 Feb 2008, 16:41:14
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('namenick', 'N')ewfie- Actually I'm not even sure what we are discussing here. It's really a question of to what extent we will be o.k. or not o.k. Obviously things are going to change somewhat but I think it's going to be far from a die-off because of PO. It's just more exaggerations from the doom and gloomers again.
In order for the people on this forum to ever gain some credibility they are going to have to forget about what they wish to happen and concentrate on what will logically happen. Until they do they will continue to be entertainment for people like JD. And I'm not talking about you specifically, just those who leave themselves open to his derision. People like btu2012 or pstarr who can't keep their tongues from flapping and get themselves slapped down every other day or so.
namenick, the derision of the JDs of this world are irrelevant. JD is not yet considered as credible a source of opinion as Simmons, not yet anyway (at least I don't see his being quoted in any news articles or being invited to speak to energy gatherings). JD will attract his own derision due to his inability to address the issue of scale, in his micro solutions to the individual aspects of oil depletion (his best shot at side-stepping this is to accuse his detractors of not showing that scale is a problem with his solutions), his assumption of a smooth take up of his "solutions", the assumption of a compliant populace in changing enough of their lifestyles to enable alternatives to work and the assumption of an infinite universe of resources awaiting our space mining machines and solar generators.
Let's ignore all of the other problems that we face (like climate change, fresh water access, fish stocks, biodiversity, topsoil loss, population pressure, resource depletion, etc), for the moment. If we agree that first oil, then natural gas and coal, will begin to decline in the foreseeable future, then we clearly have a problem with all of the uses that those fossil fuels are put to (nearly 40% of all of our energy comes from oil, perhaps 80% from fossil fuels). If we don't go with renewables for the solution (e.g. we go with uranium or fossil fuel substitution), then we have to accept that the problem, at best, will be delayed. Otherwise, we need to replace the vast proportion of our energy sources with renewables. If we continue growing our energy usage, then substituting with renewables will also only delay the problems (because there is a maximum renewal rate), if it was even possible. If it was possible, then we have to change an awful lot in order to accommodate reduced liquid fuels and increasing the use of electricity. Air transport will be especially difficult.
Now, supposing all this was possible, it assumes a relatively smooth transition. Even then, it ignores the issue of growth - at some point, we push up against resource limits for energy (even if it just the resources to harness solar energy). Then you add in the growth of China, India and other developing nations, and add back the other problems we ignored at the begining and you see that some serious changes in how society operates are needed. If we miraculously fumble our way through all this, continued economic growth will eventually bang us up against nature's limits.
However, if we can start the space mining business soon, and colonise other planets, there is a small chance we could get through this with no doom or gloom.
Now, you think the doom and gloom is unwarranted. Would you like to explain why?