[phaster]

Had lots of time to ponder peak oil this past week (took a little road trip up to black rock for the labor day week), anyway along the way I started to think of how various groups look at the "peak oil" issue from different points of view

Various "Peak Oil" points of view

just thought I'd ask ya all if ya ever tried to look at the "peak oil" issue from another point of view? if so what new insight did ya find that made ya exclaim wow that makes sense...

[Southpaw]

Sometimes i look at peakoil that it's great so we can finally build a society that lives in harmony with nature when we do the right thing.

But sometimes i also think that we're screwed cause when does a human do the right thing?

When it's too late

[Ferretlover]

When a new perspective is presented, I always look at and consider the information and its implications. So far, I have found nothing that changes my POV.
There are too many people on this planet. All the planet's resources are being consumed at an alarming rate. There is no worldwide (which is what it is going to take) activity to resolve or mitigate the problems we face. Technology cannot save us when all the resources to make those products will be gone.

[vision-master]

The masses of sheeple here look at PO as "how do we keep business as usual with declining hydrocarbons". They may say different, but are just deceiving themselves. Spiritual change must happen first.

[ROCKMAN]

v-m,

I agree completely with you regarding the need for a spiritual redevelopment if there are to be significant changes in the approach to PO. It could just as well be called a moral adjustment as well as other positive affirmations which could be condensed to just “doing the right thing” for mankind. But this is where my pessimism sets in. Like probably everyone here I’ve seen generally kind and thoughtful folks turn anything but when something they value is threatened. And that value is priced by their emotions only and not some consensus. I have also seen remarkable self sacrifice for the benefit of others but those incidents stand out all the more for their rarity. It’s not that uncommon to see the well off share with the less fortunate. But when it comes to giving up too much is when that spirit you propose suddenly disappears. And we don’t need to discuss a hypothetical future. Today, 500,000 citizens of a small African country (Equatorial Guinea) are living in life-threatening poverty as billion of $’s of their oil is shipped to the EU every week. All of the money goes to the 300 member extended family which rules the country via an absolute dictatorship. Even though the island capital sits in the middle of rich fishing grounds the people suffer from a severe lack of protein. This is because the dictator destroyed the commercial fishing fleet because of concerns it might be used to support a coup. The EU is suppose to be full of socially conscious and generally nice folks. The folks in the EU know this story well even if most of us in the US never heard of EG. When do you think EU spiritual redevelopment will kick in and they force the EG gov’t, by refusing to buy the oil, to treat its people appropriately?

Again, I’m not disputing your belief. There are just too few of us to make a difference IMO. Everyone here has the right to their own perspective of the situation. But seldom do I hear of those different views and not wonder how the starving in EG would respond if they could.

[TheDude]

I'm surprised more hay isn't made by sustainability proponents out of the suffering endured by the undertrodden in producing nations like EG and Nigeria. Hasn't occurred to them yet?; or they're still content to gripe about Rex Tillerson's paycheck, perhaps.

I analyze issues from any perspective possible, it's enlightening to do so. I'm a proponent of voluntary population reduction - I believe it's essential to humanity's survival - but when you see such an issue from the viewpoint of devout Catholics, or consider the Chinese experience with mandates, you know it's going to take a while to gain traction.

Or take big oil companies. Many people just consider them amoral vendors of evil. First and foremost, maybe some of you can back me up on this, I believe they want to make more money. They'll buy a lease, sit on it for a while, explore a bit, do some drilling - to see if it can turn a profit. They could blow their whole revenue going nuts drilling every patch possible helter skelter, maybe statistically there's a chance that would pay off - but that would be much riskier than taking their time to maximize profits. Even an anarchist or steady-state proponent would do well to judge their actions correctly.

[phaster]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ROCKMAN', 'v')-m, I agree completely with you regarding the need for a spiritual redevelopment if there are to be significant changes in the approach to PO. It could just as well be called a moral adjustment as well as other positive affirmations which could be condensed to just “doing the right thing” for mankind. But this is where my pessimism sets in...
There are just too few of us to make a difference IMO. Everyone here has the right to their own perspective of the situation. But seldom do I hear of those different views and not wonder how the starving in EG would respond if they could.

[Dont_Panic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ferretlover', 'W')hen a new perspective is presented, I always look at and consider the information and its implications. So far, I have found nothing that changes my POV.
There are too many people on this planet. All the planet's resources are being consumed at an alarming rate. There is no worldwide (which is what it is going to take) activity to resolve or mitigate the problems we face. Technology cannot save us when all the resources to make those products will be gone.

[happychicken]

I try to look at PO from a different POV all the time because I can't get my head round the fact that some people are in complete denial about it. The same goes for global warming.

I suppose it all depends on what shapes someone's reality and their beliefs about the past, present and future.

I think a lot of people are very scared about having to make any changes in their lives. It's much easier to not think about it and carry on as normal and to remain blinkered to the awful state of the world.

We all do this to some extent when we need to. Part of me wishes that there was a never-ending supply of oil and that the world isn't warming up. But the rational half of me knows that's not true.

Over the past few years I have gradually started to make some big changes to my life because of my personal belief that something big is coming. I don't know what the big thing is, but I feel I have to change my life. Maybe it's because of my kids and how important they are to me.

I still carry on "as normal", going to work, meeting up with non-'enlightened' friends etc. I almost feel as if I live a double life. There are those that you can talk openly with about issues like PO and there are those who think you're a freak.

I am trying to do my little bit and trying to lead gradually by example and help people to open their eyes to what's going on in the world around them.

Unfortunately, as the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('happychicken', '
')We all do this to some extent when we need to. Part of me wishes that there was a never-ending supply of oil and that the world isn't warming up. But the rational half of me knows that's not true.

[ROCKMAN]

BT,

I only wish the conflict were the stay between PO and GW. I afraid that as the political/military side effects of PO kick in big time the term "global warming" will become a forgotten theme.

[charliebrownout]

A wide varieties of POV as a matter of fact.

I change my point of view as often as I change my daughter's diapers. Not that her diapers are a cause for the change, I'm just pointing to that for the frequency.