[charliebrownout]

I've been reading more and more from both sides of the Peak Oil argument and the question that comes to my mind is: what kind of problem is Peak Oil?

I see a consensus in the material which I've read that it IS a problem. So, the next logical step, for me, is what KIND of problem is it?

Q: Can people figure out a way to harness energy other than through the use of fossil fuel?

My Answer: Yes, people are very creative, with enough will it could be achieved. So, is it really a physical problem? Is it a wall we HAVE to hit? It doesn't seem like it is to me.

So, that, in my mind, leaves the problem to the realm of psychology and political will. We can fix it. We just don't seem to want to fix it(by we I mean the TPTB).

It seems like this oil problem really plays well for rich folks and really screws poor folks. It is like some kind of beautiful gift for the uber-rich. It's like an industrial strength can of Raid for their human cockroach problem. Isn't it?

After more time looking at the problem (kind of like staring, cross-eyed at one of those Magic Eye paintings) I feel like I'm being set up. I feel like we're all, in one way or the other, being set up.

So, what do you think the REAL problem of Peak Oil is?

[vision-master]

denial

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('charliebrownout', '
')So, what do you think the REAL problem of Peak Oil is?

[charliebrownout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('charliebrownout', '
')So, what do you think the REAL problem of Peak Oil is?

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('charliebrownout', '
')I can see that for the masses, but for the super rich/powerful? I'm not so sure.

[charliebrownout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('charliebrownout', '
')I can see that for the masses, but for the super rich/powerful? I'm not so sure.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('charliebrownout', '
')True enough, but I think if they had an inkling anything was finite they'd make sure to screw everyone else and pad their own life boat as a response. I just don't see them getting launched off the cliff with everyone else. (No matter how much I'd like to picture it.)

[Pops]

To my little brain it has nothing to do with current measures of "wealth"or politics in the long term.

It is about too many people eating long gone fossils about to go extinct - again.

[NeoPeasant]

Affluenza.
People have come to be convinced that they absolutely need a bewildering variety of energy intensive things when all they REALLY need is shoes and a coat and some food and something to get under when it rains. If you are not freezing or starving to death, whether you are happy or not is purely psychological.

[threadbear]

The dollar is more or less backed by petroleum. If that system collapses because petroleum falls out of favour, the American dollar falls WAY out of favour, ultimately losing reserve status and even more of it's value. The book PetroDollar, by William Clarke explains much of this. There could be a financial systemic meltdown, global in reach. This is what those in power are trying to avoid.

Geological constraints are a part of the big picture, but may not be the biggest part.

Greg Palast has interesting thoughts on all of this.

[mefistofeles]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')t seems like this oil problem really plays well for rich folks and really screws poor folks. It is like some kind of beautiful gift for the uber-rich. It's like an industrial strength can of Raid for their human cockroach problem. Isn't it?

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'T')o my little brain it has nothing to do with current measures of "wealth"or politics in the long term.

It is about too many people eating long gone fossils about to go extinct - again.

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', ' ')Could both be happening simultaneously? Of course.

[mos6507]

It's a problem if the global population is in overshoot because we convert oil into food, and that without the oil, we will have such a pronounced food shortage that there is a die-off. People get all smug and talk about chomping on popcorn and watching peak oil play out as if they are merely observers to OTHER people's suffering, but we will ALL get pulled down together. We just don't know yet how deep the pain will be or how broadly distributed.

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', 'P')eople get all smug and talk about chomping on popcorn ...

[charliebrownout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', ' ')Could both be happening simultaneously? Of course.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('charliebrownout', '
')That's all I'm getting at. I just can't shake the feeling that the problem is much more dynamic, meaning, it is BOTH.

[charliebrownout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mefistofeles', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')t seems like this oil problem really plays well for rich folks and really screws poor folks. It is like some kind of beautiful gift for the uber-rich. It's like an industrial strength can of Raid for their human cockroach problem. Isn't it?

[americandream]

I'm flabbergasted that at $120 a barrell, we're still asking the question, "Has peak arrived".

[charliebrownout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('charliebrownout', '
')That's all I'm getting at. I just can't shake the feeling that the problem is much more dynamic, meaning, it is BOTH.