Looking Forward

[sathor]

https://visual.ly/stock-check-how-long-will-earths-resources-last

There are some other articles out there painting a similar picture - about 40 years for oil seems to be a common figure.

It's of incredible concern, you know? But it's like the world has blinders on. This isn't talked about much in mainstream media...there's no push for conservation of oil, energy, or precious metals. There's been no slow down in manufacturing and advertising pressures as much or more as ever for greater consumption to drive the markets higher and higher. New markets are opening up and expanding very rapidly in parts of the world that contain a much greater proportion of population than the west does, in addition to a much greater need because they are not yet fully modernized...and therefore, they have a much higher propensity for abuse of finite resources.

Maybe it's not mainstream because it's sensationalist and incorrect - but I intuit that this is not the case, and the references I can find seem legitimate. If we don't transition into dominant forms of green, renewable energy, I can't even fathom the kinds of horrors civilization will face in the next fifty years. This is in addition to the looming disaster that climate change appears to be, and the apparent inevitability of water scarcity in the most populated areas worldwide.

Are we running on rails towards devastation, or is it just another generation's falling sky?

Comments

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Well... it depends what you regard as 'mainstream media'. If you only count commercial broadcasts, then no, it's not talked about much, and when it IS talked about, it's presented as "sensationalist or incorrect." This is because commercial broadcast companies are owned by corporations with a heavily-vested financial interest in keeping the oil burning, even if the whole planet burns too.

However, National Geographic and Scientific American are every bit as 'mainstream' as The Reader's Digest or Time magazine, and hold themselves to a much higher standard of scientific accuracy. THEY've been pushing for conservation for the past half-century or more!

Wasn't it P.T. Barnum who said "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public"? The American proletariat is dazzled by 'bread and circuses' on a scale the poet Juvenal (who coined the phrase) could never have imagined. Comprehensive education in every subject under the sun is available for free at the touch of a button, but how much time do people actually devote to educating themselves, compared to the time they spend shopping, gaming, gossipping, watching brain-candy and posting pictures of their cats?

It's not that the information isn't out there - more of it every day, and with increasing urgency - and instantly available to any person who wants it. But a lot of people DON'T want it - actively and specifically don't want it, and will say so straight-out to anyone who tries to turn them on to it.

How many times have you heard people say "I hate politics" as if that were justification for their ignorance and apathy? They don't want to hear about stuff that makes them feel guilty for sitting on their asses posting cat pictures and playing World of Warcraft while the polar bears drown. All that stuff is "boring and depressing" - meaning, it requires focused attention (for more than ten minutes) to understand it, and there are no quick fixes or easy answers. Therefore, people who don't understand it feel stupid, and people who can't figure out anything to do about it feel helpless.

Feeling stupid and helpless is unpleasant. People want to feel smart and powerful (even if they're not) and they're willing to pay whatever it takes to feel that way in the 'present moment'. Meanwhile, their corporate Masters are willing to pay whatever it takes to keep them complacent in their apathetic ignorance, and to silence authorities that tell the truth. It's a 'perfect storm' of global ecological devastation.

Of course, the Koch Brothers and their cronies would much prefer you to believe it's just another generation's falling sky, and go back to your toys, games and drama rather than even trying to understand it or do anything about it. Not just you; all you Millenials - who are now of an age to be having children, and thus to worry about what sort of world they're going to inherit. Billions of dollars are spent every year to keep you from ever taking any effective action, because the more you "don't like politics", the more you'll leave all that in the oily hands of those who do like them.

Have you ever checked out conuly's Lj? She's my favorite news service, because she posts links to articles from a wide variety of sources several times a week. If you want to see how much mainstream reportage of these issues there really is, put her on your Friends List; you'll be astonished.

[sathor.livejournal.com]

People not wanting information is something I know all too well - and at times I really believe it's part of the reason I do tend to keep to myself. I love learning, with all of my heart - but when trying to even express a small amount of that learning, I can see the boredom on the faces of the people around me - they'd much rather crack jokes, fantasize and do the typical human thing. I guess I do understand why - life is stressful, difficult...and many people just want to avoid things that make their head hurt, or raise serious concerns about the future or path of civilization. Not everyone is meant to be a lifelong learner, either (even though I think it would do the world a great deal of good.) The standard operating procedure for the humans I've known in my life has bored me, though - so I guess it goes both ways. Occasionally I meet one of "my people" as some of my former Alaskan friends put it...but it's fairly rare. And mostly non-existent in Warren.

I was having a little conversation last night online with regards to exactly your Barnum quote - that the proletariat left to their own devices, without any knowledgeable guidance, would basically strip the planet of its very ability to support life. That statement of course was met with the utmost resistance in a rather open chat - there's, "No other way the markets can be run" and "need-based economies can't work." I.E. capitalism is here to stay in the hearts and minds of the people, or so it would seem.

I haven't seen Conuly's journal, but I did add her today due to your suggestion :)

I need to respond to your earlier comment as well - might be later tonight, though.

Thanks for the links :) I read an article on the Shell drilling just yesterday, or the day before, but it painted a much different picture - it was actually written by a Shell representative, i believe. It was more of an "economic" forecast, noting that they don't expect green energy to really start gaining momentum for something like another 30 years, so they want to "fill the gap" during that time. I think if these big companies really gave a shit, they'd, you know - pool all of their resources into green energy and forget about fossil fuels. Who cares if the companies stop performing well and downsize? They have so many resources at their disposal they could use for the greater good...I just don't understand humans at times.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

If it takes 30 years for green energy to "start gaining momentum", the planet will be a burned-out desert - probably radioactive from endless wars over oil and water - with a toxic, largely-barren sea.

That's why the movement to keep oil in the ground needs our support. The American proletariat are not very happy right now - they're starting to grok that it's the oil companies who are in large measure responsible for their economic woes; the fact that they work hard all their lives, save their money as best they can, and still can't afford to own a home or go to the hospital. And despite the stunningly well-funded campaign against it, the truth about climate change is starting to get through to some people. California has a terrible drought already, and now it also has a devastating oil spill; a lot of people who didn't want to pay attention are going to have to now.

Now is the time to drum up support for the American Anti-Corruption Act, and to overturn Citizens United, so the corporations can't just buy our government outright.

Imagine if political activism went viral all over the country - the populace rising up, but not in stupid street-demonstrations that just tie up traffic and get people tear-gassed - rather, in texts and e-mails to the Congress-critters themselves, and to all the aspiring Congress-critters in State and local government.

The owners of these mega-corporations, the 1%, don't give a shit about the rest of the human race, and refuse to listen to those who say they're destroying the planet. A lot of the bigwigs of the Republican party are Dominionists, and don't care about saving the Earth because they believe we're in the 'Last Days' anyway, and the Earth is doomed.

Unless we get those assholes out of power in a whole lot less than 30 years, they're probably right about that.

[shauna gordon (from livejournal.com)]

If you want a really bleak perspective, check out Lierre Kieth's The Vegetarian Myth. She posits that humanity start a long, slow, destructive death with the agricultural revolution. At best, we outstripped earth's resources when we started using oil-based synthetic fertilizers a couple hundred years ago. Agriculture, itself, is at beast mildly net negative on topsoil (maintains topsoil if carefully done and only erodes it slightly, instead of building it) and at worst devastating to the environment. And no, the world going vegetarian isn't the answer, because the problem isn't the animals, integrated into a perennial system, but rather the hungry, thirsty annuals that we insist on growing, even where they shouldn't (California is a prime example of this - 80% of their water is going to farms, not people).

The world won't end (unless maybe if we nuke each other into oblivion). It will keep going and life on earth, as a whole, will be fine (after all, the earth has been warm enough to support dinosaurs at the poles). However, it will very likely look quite a bit different, and with quite a bit fewer humans. Mother Nature doesn't take kindly to overpopulation and will bring things back into balance, no matter how much we try to delay the inevitable.

[sathor.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised you still read here :) Well hopefully it's at least marginally entertaining.

It seems to me that farming is actually fairly complicated/inefficient if you want to do it in such a way that you don't destroy topsoil/suck all the nutrients out of the ground. Free range cattle don't really hurt the environment as long as they have enough land (as far as I know) but the reality is, if we relied on free range cattle and sustainable farming techniques, I really, really doubt we could support the current population. So of course, we don't try to enforce limitations on farmers. Instead we build gigantic metropolis' and turn the world into a desert. Seems reasonable.

I agree that the world won't end exactly without a seriously catastrophic event (nuclear war, meteor, super volcanic eruptions, runaway greenhouse effect, self-replicating nano-technology, etc. etc.) but I think the world as we know it will. I'm glad that right now, with all the people and innovation, there are people like Elon Musk trying to create a better future. But I don't believe it will be enough to sustain this level of population indefinitely. On the plus side, the advanced technology will be a big boon to those who are left. I could see a much more Star Trek-esque civilization if we reduced numbers significantly and focused on proper education and utilizing everyone meaningfully.

-hugs- If I ever get through the books I'm currently working on, I'll definitely check out the suggestion. I've got so much to read right now, and I've started picking back through some of my old college textbooks as well. Hope all is well with you.