[Cog]

Four day work week. 10 hr days. Save 20% on fuel for commute and leave more time for home gardening. No appreciable down-side that I can see.

[vetusfirma]

Old saying: “If rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it“. Oil depletion is inevitable. If you start using any finite resource, it will be depleted. So relax and enjoy it. Won’t matter what you do, won’t matter what thousands do, won’t matter what millions do, save or waste, it won’t matter. OIL WILL BE DEPELETED. It is not a punishment, it is not a crime, it just IS.

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vetusfirma', 'O')ld saying: “If rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it“. Oil depletion is inevitable. If you start using any finite resource, it will be depleted. So relax and enjoy it. Won’t matter what you do, won’t matter what thousands do, won’t matter what millions do, save or waste, it won’t matter. OIL WILL BE DEPELETED. It is not a punishment, it is not a crime, it just IS.

[Kingcoal]

What you are looking for is painless solutions? The solutions are simple, they just involve pain to varying degrees. My answer: morphine; one of the most powerful pain killers known to man. Let the markets work things out while distributing morphine to those who complain. Problem solved.

[gnm]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'N')ot gonna happen Mr. Bill as you well know.

My best offering is:

Disassociate business from government.

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gnm', 'N')ot gonna happen Pops as you well know....

[Pretorian]

A very simple solution:
1) buy/lease all oil tankers in the world;
2) forbid building new ones;
3) Pay exporters enough to cover costs+ some food;
4) Sell to the importers cheap enough so they can eat enough to be able to work;
5) have a happy life for another 150-200 years.

[Dreamtwister]

Unfortunately, the only viable solution is so repugnant that even the hardest of hardcore among us would have trouble sleeping at night:

Let. Them. Starve.

[Pretorian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dreamtwister', 'U')nfortunately, the only viable solution is so repugnant that even the hardest of hardcore among us would have trouble sleeping at night:

Let. Them. Starve.

[Dreamtwister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pretorian', 'w')ow to hear something like that from an old member... with 1800+ posts.. Where you've been all this time? Board Kiosk?

[MrBill]

Most simple, and certainly excellent, solutions so far have revolved around reducing one's own personal consumption and/or using local inputs when and where they exist. That is a good start.

If you have rainwater, by all means collect it. That is not much of a solution here in Cyprus nor in Arizona I would presume? However, the wood stove, for example. As pstarr is apt to point out such solutions work for the individual, but they are not scalable, and they are certainly not without their negative side effects.

For example, burning wood for cooking has caused massive deforestation and soil erosion in environmentally sensitive areas, and in many parts of the developing world health problems associated with poor ventilation and cooking over an open fire. Charcoaling is even worse for the environment and the health. Especially when done inefficiently.

If adopted on a large scale these problems would quickly spiral out of control, and reverse many of our conservation efforts up to now. As I mentioned in another post the three-way civil war that raged in Lebanon for a decade(s) took its toll on old-growth Cypress forests that were cut down for heating as alternatives such as gas were not available or affordable. Those forests take hundreds of years to reach maturity.

If you lived or visited Eastern Europe during Soviet times you would certainly be familiar with the low-hanging smog caused by coal smoke. A substitute for wood heating that also releases pollutants into the air. And you may notice the houses that used to be heated by wood stoves alone were very, very small in comparison to the average home today. Exfixiation as well as chimney fires were a common occurrence. Especially when burning overnight at low temps. My grandmother's family perished due to a chimney fire.

So there may be a place for better insulated homes with passive solar heating that use a wood stove as supplemental heat, but this is not a solution that is flexible or willing to travel. It has been tried on a large scale and already found wanting. Do we want to repeat the mistakes of the past?

And, of course, if you're already living on a dollar or two a day, and spending half of that on food and energy, then your ability to buy solar panels is probably unattainable without some sort of outside subsidy. Those make great pilot projects, but they are not scalable. Think locally. Act locally. Is probably more realistic than thinking globally. Unless you have extra time and energy on your hands.

[careinke]

Grow a garden.

Cliff

[davep]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')owever, the wood stove, for example. As pstarr is apt to point out such solutions work for the individual, but they are not scalable, and they are certainly not without their negative side effects.

[MrBill]

Dave, I am not criticizing you or your suggestion. Just pointing out that there are very few simple solutions that are scalable and portable.

For example addressing climate change and resource depletion in the rich/western/developed world is quite different than coming up with solutions for all the rest of humanity. They need not be mutually exclusive, but they are not likely to be the same either.

I am still waiting for a solution that meets all of the criteria in the original question, which was in any case a rhetorical question of sorts to begin with. Just like I told BT that I could address greenhouse gas emissions by putting seawater in my gas tank. It's a joke. Of course, by rendering my vehicle useless I address climate change, but I do not solve my transportation problem either. He suggested I drive less. That is not a bad suggestion, but I drive so little in the first place that it is not really that useful. Certainly not relative to the size of the global energy problem.

So there may be thousands of steps we can individually take, but there are fewer simple solutions that we can all take. Except, of course, to voluntarily reduce our consumption. If we were that advanced politically and socially we could likely solve a great many of the world's economical and environmental problems at the same time. We are not there, yet. So the search for simple, painless solutions goes on. Instead of addressing each problem head on until a solution is found whether it is palatable to all stakeholders or not.

I hate the word 'stakeholders'. It sounds to me like everyone wants a voice at the table, but they want someone else to pay for the solution.

[davep]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MrBill', 'D')ave, I am not criticizing you or your suggestion. Just pointing out that there are very few simple solutions that are scalable and portable.

[dorlomin]

Have the nations leader go on television and explain resource depletion. Explain the fact that the cost of oil and gas will continue to rise informing people it is in there best interests to readjust there lifes, especialy car size and miles covered.

It will not solve the problem, but in terms of impact vs cost it is about the best thing you can do.

Hey stop laughing once in a while you have a politician with a bit of balls.....

"I have nothing to offere but blood, sweat and tears.....", "We shall fight them on the beaches, fight them on the landing grounds ..... and with growing resolve.....", "It is not the end, nor indeed even the begining of the end, it is however the end of the begining.....".

[MrBill]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('davep', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MrBill', 'D')ave, I am not criticizing you or your suggestion. Just pointing out that there are very few simple solutions that are scalable and portable.

[davep]

Following on from Pops' idea, I think we should pass laws where being a corporate lobbyist is punishable by death. Justice can be meted out by all and sundry.

[BigTex]

Growing a little of one's own food and attempting to simply do without certain things are two of the best solutions I've heard so far.

Learning how to do without something is one of the most elegant solutions there is. No technology required.

[MrBill]

One solution: cut subsidies for energy consumption immediately, and use those funds to subsidize the import of better seeds and adequate fertilizer. energy subsidies are money down a rat hole that encourage over-consumption. subsidizing seed and fertilizer imports to raise production in an era of high prices and potential food shortages is an investment in social stability and domestic growth.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')t powered the Green Revolution and helped save millions from starvation, but now one of the most important tools on the farm is being priced out of reach for many of the world's growers.

With food prices soaring and stocks thinning, the world is in need of bumper harvests but once one of most bountiful of commodities, fertilizer, is becoming scarce and expensive.

It's estimated that one third of the protein consumed by humans is a result of fertilizer. So high prices and spot shortages are yet another stress on the world's ailing food system.

(continued)

The rising price is a burden on rich and poor farmers alike as they represent a big investment upfront, despite high world prices for crops. If all goes well, a farmer can earn $3 for every $1 invested in fertilizer.