BiodiversityConsumerismDeforestationEconomicsFood ShortagesGlobal Warming/Climate ChangePeak OilPopulationSociety

Global Crisis Explained

12 Comments

  1. I kind of tend to agree with Toby Hemenway on a number of points here. (Which – incidentally – I normally don’t.)

    Peak Oil is a massive problem, and it will certainly completely change how we live. In particular people who badly went into debt, or rely on cash or similar assets, who depend on sophisticated medication, as well as people living in nations where many seem to be easily frightened and somewhat aggressive (in particular, the USA), and people living in densely occupied regions will be in for quite a few surprises. Those who bought gold and did not reduce their expenses first will be in for a funny surprise fairly early on (i.e. it won’t last long) – and those who went into gold and did reduce their expenses will also be, but for a different one (i.e. at some point, people will be much more interested in other things).

    Energetically speaking, I don’t see a threat to food production within the next 2-3 decades or so coming from declining energy availability – but sticking with funny ideas such as letting the market decide about the price of food vs. energy will almost certainly bring about precisely such a crisis – if, say, it is more profitable to put grain into an airplane tank to fly a highly paid megacorp executive to a meeting than to let poor people have something to eat, then this is what will happen. Food transport and storage also will become a problem.

    The two biggest problems which we have is that our markets do not reflect the environmental reality, especially when it comes to the price of (a) food, and (b) energy. Both have been kept artificially cheap in a number of ways, as this was needed to create the sociopolitical environment in which industrialism could unfold – which politically was considered as highly desirable. All this will see major “corrections”.

    States will fail, but people will still trade, so there will still be some sort of economy. Rather than this becoming a libertarian’s paradise, what will happen is that some fairly abstract commodities we don’t give much thought these days will become very valuable. There are some things any economy needs to function – certainly, it will need some sort of security. Now, given that the police won’t be able to provide that product, what other gun-slinging “experts” can we expect to be competitive in the security market? Right – organized crime. So, in many places, the Mafia or similar organizations will take over the role of the police in the sense that they will create a level of security that allows those businesses they are going to fleece to operate.

    One particular problem I have with Mike Ruppert is that he somehow does not seem to try to develop his judgment skills even though he has been badly wrong on a number of things in the past. But yet, he also has been right on a number of things where most other people would have considered him crazy.

  2. “This landscape would not have existed had Native Americans practiced the deep ecology ideals mantled upon them by the New Age.”

    See: https://patternliteracy.com/landuse.html

    This is not correct; Deep Ecology has nothing to do with New Age. The founder of Deep Ecology, Arne Næss, was an atheist, and his main inspiration was from the philosophy of Baruch de Spinoza: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_de_Spinoza

    Can’t understand how it’s possible to mix Deep Ecology with New Age!?!

  3. Thank you Alexander for posting these videos here! It’s a major problem that media is dependent upon the advertisers that cause much of these problems. When we know that our consciousness contra our subconscious is 10/11000000 it’s really not strange we are easily manipulated. Our small consciousness is a big problem!

  4. Extinctions happen, are happening, and have happened as a result of our species’ activities…

    And who says we, ourselves, are immune?

    Would it be poetically ironic if our apparent brilliant success at survival be what does us in?

    Famous last words perhaps… maybe with no one left in the end to hear them.

    At any rate, would anyone even want to be around in the afterward?

    I mean, my local river is already undrinkable.

    What’s the point in survival if there’s nothing left to live for?

  5. In a sense, we’re already dead.
    Hanging off of a cliff and swinging around at the end of a progressively thinning thread is just that.

    So the question, then, seems to be one of both resuscitation, and preventative medicine.

  6. Øyvind, it seems completely possible to reach a conclusion from many different starting points. From what I understand, Spinoza was not an atheist (as the first part of his Ethics was “of God”) yet you claim he inspired an atheist with his philosophy. In the same way, an atheist could inspire a theist on overlapping matters.

    It seems counter productive to really even get caught up in the world of philosophical divisions and definitions. I would say it is not necessary to fully realize the truth and the origin in order to start the work that needs to be done. Though I would imagine this realization is the ultimate goal.

  7. I think the strategy to get through the difficult times coming is is to skill up an learn/hone skills such as gardening, building, food preparation and storage, foraging etc. Do a PDC course, buy and read the best books on all these subjects.

    Work on relationships with like minded people in the immediate area or move to an area with like minded people and land access. Get out of debt should also be a top priority unless there is no doubt about reliable incoming cash flow even in difficult times. Downsize. Obtain good reliable hand tools and learn how to use and maintain them.

    Gold/Silver is probably only useful after debt deflation has played out its course (years?) and we can no longer use fiat money as a store of value (as it is worthless). Which means if you lose your income in the next wave down you may already need to access your gold and silver when it probably has least value due to all the other people selling theirs in order to pay for living expenses.

    So I think it is much better to instead of buying gold and silver and bury it in your backyard – spend the money now on (permaculture) upskilling, tools, books, downsizing and getting out of debt. Your (new?) skills will be in demand so ensure you have a way to make a living in difficult times. The ability to help yourself no matter what happens is true wealth.

    I was fortunate enough to do the PDC course this year in Melbourne and must say it was the best value of any money I have spent on education in my lifetime. So if you have not already done so – go and do a PDC :)

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