BIG PROBLEMS AHEAD: The End of Cheap Oil; the Financial Crisis, Deindustrialization

[jaymorpheus11]

This is a good narration, there's no hyped up music, no random emotional pictures. Just straight up and to the point.

[mastertheillusion]

Nuclear Fission needs to end and be replaced with Fusion, particularly using helium 3.

[hornywhitehottie]

The economy is based on precious metals like Gold and Silver dumb ass, never been a bearer note that said anything about oil and our money is printed based on the amount of precious metal we have. What a wonderfully stupid fucking solution you offer up too, hey, let's just do without. STFU!

[zenbrenzz]

How about we get the hell out of the MidEast? I've heard that fighter jets use more fuel in one day than every car in the US in one day.

[psychopotato]

Need to stop perpetuating the 'nuclear energy is evil' bais.

[icurhuman2]

@psychopotato The trouble is it takes ten years to decommission a nuclear power plant and costs US$350-US$500 million to do so. There are 442 in the world. What are you going to pay nuclear power workers when peak-oil hits and currencies that rely on fractional reserve banking and infinite interest growth collapse? Fresh vegetables? Left alone every nuclear power plant will meltdown. If only a twentieth of the nuclear power plants worldwide meltdown it's game over for everyone.

[tomitstube]

you're thinking 20th century my friend. the myth is multi-national conglomerate business practices are practical, they waste $10 in energy and resources to each $1 of product. we could survive on 1/10 the energy we use now. i mean, do people really need to live 50 miles from their job? do you know how much it costs to drink coffee from argentina? the answer is not in where it will come from, but how we'll use it. first. we need to get the power from greedy corporate profiteer capitalists.

[tomitstube]

@tomitstube ~ sorry ralph, i pushed "post", then heard you address most of what i said in the 2nd half of the video. you're absolutely right about globalization being a "big mess", it's exploitation of resources and pollution of the planet. it's the very few benefiting at the expense of the planet and people. it's the biggest problem we face in practical terms.

[willyswear]

What about the big shale oil finds in North Dakota and the recent one in Texas? Gas from shale is more expensive but there is a lot of it.

People used to worry about running out of copper because of all the copper wire used in telephone lines. Then they made the discovery of Fiber Optics.

[Blairtim69]

@willyswear

Fiber optics is not made of copper.

We need to develop alternatives to fossil fuel

We are going to get beat to the punch in this developement, and will be buying the technology instead of selling it.

[willyswear]

@Blairtim69 Do you have comprehension problems? Take some Ritalin and reread what I wrote.

[Blairtim69]

@willyswear

Your solution for fossil fuel was fossil fuel. Removing gas from shale is just as limited and destructive as drilling.

I assumed you were making a comparative example with copper wire being replaced with fiber optic.

Fiber optics was invented not discovered, and is fundamentally different from copper wire.

A better comparison would be, instead of fossil fuels, fusion energy should be funded, it would fundamentally change energy consumption as we know it.

[Weaseldog2001]

@willyswear Have you ever tried to run your car on Fiber Optics?

[willyswear]

@Weaseldog2001 What the hell are you talking about?

[Weaseldog2001]

@willyswear Your fiber technology example only makes sense is we have a fuel that is more abundant, cheaper, more efficient, more convenient, and has more BTUs per pound than oil. Natural gas is a return to 19th century technology.

One of the things you haven;t addressed is the BTU per year extraction rate after subtracting energy inputs, is poor for cracked gas. How much potential there is, doesn't mean much if the extraction rate is low.

[Weaseldog2001]

@willyswear for instance, say you had a $billion in a trust fund, and you could withdraw a maximum of $5 / month. what would you buy first? What kind of lifestyle would that support?

[Blairtim69]

Great video!

[Blairtim69]

Our power and transportation infrastructure is failing, and our healthcare system provides the least amount of care at the highest cost.

We are the most advanced country in medical science, but it is only available to the wealthiest.

Obama’s 25 tax cuts add up to the most tax cuts than any other president in history.

Taking our tax levels to Reagan levels would go a long way in cutting our deficit spending.

[Blairtim69]

Germany, China, Japan, and France are leading the way in stable high energy batteries, as well as fusion power. Other renewable energy systems are also being developed.

The country that accomplishes any of these first wins. Do we want to be the country selling these technologies of the future, or purchasing?

[Blairtim69]

The financial institutions are responsible for the economic collapse.

If you shoot someone the gun maker is not responsible, or the laws that allowed you to have the gun, or the store that sold it. You are responsible for pulling the trigger.

The financial institutions pulled the trigger.

[blair227]

Ralph,Carter had a energy plan in the 70's but people rebuked both on the right and left.The right because of the damage it might do to their corporate masters,and the left because it involed nuclear power.At any rate,had we adopted his plan nearly 40 years ago,we would be energy independent today.

[Ralphdraw3]

@blair227 I know. We should have listened to Carter. Detroit went back to making gas guzzlers. Here in Michigan gas is above $4. Diesel is also going up in price. Much of terrorism comes from the Islamic oil-states.

[blair227]

@Ralphdraw3 Yeah Ralph,I'm really sorry about Michigans problems,and it sounds like your new governor is trying to create the 4th Reich there.In truth,things aren't much better here in Ky. After all we unfortunately elected Rand "I hate civil rights Paul",the biggest idiot in the Senate.

[Ralphdraw3]

@althazarr The financial collapse was not caused by the entitlement programs. It was caused by massive borrowing by individuals, and corruption and fraud among the lenders and banks. The national debt problem has been 3 decades in the making - starting with the tax cuts during Ronald Reagan's administration and more tax cuts coupled with increased in spending during George W. Bush's administration. In fact, Social Security has been running a surplus for several years.

[BOZ11]

@althazarr how could the people in the lowest strata and therefore the weakest influence, bring the whole system crashing down? the answer is in the question. weakest influence = marginal responsibility. Big influence (banks/lenders/govt) = huge responsibility. read 'the big short' by michael lewis

[blair227]

@althazarr You sound like a typical dumbed down Fux news watcher,blame everyone but the people and programs that are really responsible for our problems.Bush fighting 2 wars and not paying for them,lack of regulation on the big banks and Wall Street,need I go on? Read something other than Ayn Rand,and watch some real news programs and maybe you won't sound so fucking stupid.

[baddmanaz]

your voice sounds like newt gingrich. not meant as a put down or anything. just an observation.

anyway, thanks for the personal msg.

[AmericanResponses]

Is Germany getting out of Nuclear Energy or just revamping because of what happened in Japan?

[ALITL8]

What if alcohol made from cannabis and other farmed/gardened plant material, produced on nearly every farm prior to alcohol prohibition, had "always" been a viable alternative to petroleum?

"There are more stills in this country than filling stations." - Henry Ford

watch?v=5qDYoEupI28

[Ralphdraw3]

@ALITL8 My guess is that it would cost quite a bit more than gasoline. Another drawback would be less power per unit of fuel - it would take more gallons of alcohol to go the same distance as quantity of gasoline.

[ALITL8]

@Ralphdraw3 guess? how much does it cost to wage war to protect oil interest? there are also several other factors to consider also (i.e. storage, transportation, remediation of contamination, etc.). wouldn't less power per unit be offset by the abundance of a renewable energy source?

FYI: the first internal combustion engine patented in the US ran on alcohol and the first diesel engines ran on bio-diesel.

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@Ralphdraw3 That is correct and why no biofuel will ever suffice. The ratio of carbon-based "carbohydrates" (as they're often referred to) for fossil fuels far exceeds anything else in existence by something like a 5:1 ratio for even the best alternatives. (I forget the exact ratio, I want to say 4.7:1)

[therealcharismatron]

Favourited.  This really great stuff. I'd like it if you could break down the Wall St. stuff into layman's terms and possibly tackle Republican arguments on Democratic "controlled spending habits".

[MrGnarus]

germany is preparing for war. nuclear power plants make good targets.

[wickedenchanter]

I would have loved to sit in the audience and see this address actually delivered at some commencement ceremony.