Comments on: Death by 1000 Paper Cuts

By: Bealers

Bealers — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:57:01 +0000

Hi Julia,

that’s the second recommendation we’ve had for the The Long Descent in a week so it’s very much added to the list.

Thanks.

By: Julia

Julia — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:40:47 +0000

Hi there hope the move to Cornwall is going well! I don’t know if you’ve read it, but the book The Long Descent by John Michael Greer argues exactly for the bumpy and gradual descent of industrialised civilisation, contextualising the forthcoming erosion of society within societies of old such as the Mayans. Tom and I found it a really helpful primer for peak oil novices, but you guys are steeped in it so probably have already read it! Cheers, Julia

By: Bealers

Bealers — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:17:39 +0000

@david

Oops. Thanks for the heads up. Edited and duly noted for further posts.

By: David Bradley

David Bradley — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 08:05:56 +0000

As a chemist, I cannot help but point out the erroneous formula you are using for carbon dioxide. The correct one is CO2 (but with the 2 subscripted). What you have is Co2, which almost looks like cobalt (Co) but with a superscript two. The point is Carbon dioxide, as the name suggests is composed of a single carbon atom bonded to two oxygen atoms, it just happens to be in a linear arrangement and might alternatively be represented as O=C=O where the = represents a double bond between each O atom and the C atom.

By the way, I suspect we are in for a bumpy ride over the next century and the global gap between the haves and the havenots will get wider and wider unless humanity’s ingenuity finds a long-term and sustainable solution to the imminent water, food, and energy crises. Here’s hopin’, eh?

By: ackers

ackers — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 21:20:30 +0000

“Cathie thinks we’re going to have a number of major game-changing and horrible shocks over the coming years”

I think it’s conceivable that another spike in oil prices or a hiccup in their supply to us from the good people of Saudi Arabia may result in:

- long frustrating queues at the petrol pumps,
- people who have chosen to live a long drive to work may not able to get to their jobs,
- food/medicines not being stocked as efficiently on our beloved supermarket shelves and potentially panic-buying hoarding making even less available for purchase

It is said that we are only three missed meals away from anarchy, chaos and panic. My kids turn into monsters if I’m 15 minutes late with their dinner – imagine if I were unable to give them anything for days.

Given how reliant we are on just-in-time food delivery and cooling systems (all run on cheap diesel) I can see that if the price of crude oil went up to $200 per barrel it is quite feasible that these life-support systems could break down temporarily but for longer than a day or two which is more than three dinners’ worth of empty tummies at home.

This on its own would not mean The End of The World As We Know It but it might, as you say, make many more people figure out that they are very far from being reslient from oil-related ’shocks’ and may wish to become more self-sufficient.

By: Kat

Kat — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 21:09:10 +0000

I can’t help worrying that if there’s no big crisis nothing will change until it’s too late! As someone who is only just pulling their head from the sand I can say it feels a hell of a lot safer in there. Unless something drastic happens all those people who care in theory will just keep living day to day. Personally I’m hoping for a nice eye opening event with minimal human costs to kick some change off.