Well guys, I'm sure some of you are beginning to think that I'm "one of those nut jobs" And, to each their own.
What was most dramatic for me watching the program though was the arguments these guys brought to the table. Kind of like Holmes pointing out the Halibut quota sale to private individuals rather than guides, it made me look at things in a different perspective.
While the focus of the program was slanted towards how all of these things effect the US, what was clear was that most of these issues are world wide even more so, and that something happening "way over there" could dramatically effect us over here, and very rapidly.
So here's a few things they brought up on the show.
1) Population
The Earths total population remained basically stable at about two billion people from around the time of the Romans until the discovery of oil. Once oil was discovered the move to industrialization and mechanized farming changed things forever. Fewer and fewer people were needed to grow surpluses of food. Once there was more food world wide, we began making more people. Around the world there have been population blips which decreased certain populations, ie WW1, WW2, natural disasters etc, but as a whole, populations increased. With the boom of the oil industry we shot forward technologically at a tremendous rate and were able to improve methods of harvest from both land and sea. We are now approaching 8 Billion people on the planet in less than 200 years.
Resources/Oil
We are a world of consumers with the United States leading the pack. At present the US consumes almost double the resources of any other country, yet has a population of less than 375 million. As the emerging nations move towards the standard of living that has been the best in the world, imagine how long resources would last when China, at almost 4 Billion people, all start to consume them at the same rate as Americans have. Then add India and all of the other economically shifting 3rd world countries and their people. The problem lies with the Exponential consumption of resources. Eventually there will be none, and this is happening at a much faster rate than we are all being led to believe. According to the program, the United States reached it's "Peak Oil" production in 1970. Peak oil means it was the point when the most barrels of oil on record were produced. Since 1970 US production has slowed (in fact it was capped so the Americans would have future oil reserves AFTER the rest of the world runs out.) Since then, while American production has dropped, They have been making up the difference in their consumptive needs from other countries including us. This volume of consumption has more than doubled since 1970, and as a result the rest of the worlds oil resources are already on a decline regarding availability of supply. What happens when we use up this Non-renewable resource? And at what point do other countries Stop selling to the US in order to maintain a sufficient amount for their own needs in the future? This would be the equivalent of turning off the tap for the US. Do this and inflation immediately leaps upwards as the cost of transporting goods skyrockets. And how will the American public, or any public for that matter react to this sudden need to change the way we live? There has been oil rationing before, it's not new. But we are talking about a permanent long term issue, not a short term one like the OPEC oil embargo. Forget about oil as a fuel for a moment. Look around you. EVERYTHING ON EARTH IS MADE FROM PLASTIC! NO OIL, NO PLASTIC! We would become a recycle only society. Like we should have been all along. I guess it takes a Hammer for some people to pay attention.
Water
Right now the entire planet is in a water crisis. Fresh water is on the decline everywhere. Across the central states and Canada, we allowed the oil companies to drain every creek and slew and flush the water down their wells so we could have the precious black gold. Pollution has claimed its share of waterways as well, and the great glaciers that in as few as forty years ago were predicted to last for thousands of years, have almost totally melted. Aquifers left by the Glaciers are starting to run dry. As Canadians we are fortunate. We have one of the smallest populations per land mass of country than anywhere on the planet. And we have more fresh water than anywhere else on the planet. Considering that less than 3% of all of the water on Earth is fresh water, we are fortunate indeed. But this is also a problem. What happens when our neighbours to the south run out of water with 375 million people? With no water there are no toilets (How would you work in an office tower?) either so sanitation becomes a huge issue and disease runs rampant. It would be the dark ages all over again for them, or would it? We have a great country, I love it. But we cannot, and would not, ever be able to defend our water or resources from our neighbours should they decide to take them. OHHH, that's right, I forgot we already signed the free trade agreement, in which is a condition whereby we are to supply them with OUR water. If you think for one minute that if the United States were to run out of water for their people that they would not resort to taking ours you are sadly mistaken. We are talking about survival here. People would be dying. A LOT of people. Don't get me wrong, I really like our neighbours. And as Canadians we are always there to help our friends. But how long could our resources last if there were suddenly 10 times the population relying on them?
Economics
We live in a world of Virtual money. Stock values, Credit and loans, interest, government finances, etc. At some point this bubble is going to burst, and not like the crash of 2008, or even the one from the 20's. We are talking about total Global economic melt down. And it's already happening. Greece and other countries in the European Union are all walking a fine line. The crash in Asia several years ago still has countries reeling. The current American economy and our own. We are standing on the edge of the financial cliff staring into the abyss and the rock at our feet is about to give way. Because we are a world economy now, what happens anywhere on the planet effects us. This is beyond our control. We could get sucked down with the rest of them.
Food
We no longer live in the world of the "100 Mile Diet" ie, you survive on the food that is grown, produced, and harvested in a 100 mile area around you. The average piece of produce on a grocery store shelf in this country has travelled an average of 1400 MILES! When the oil runs out, how will you eat? Do you have the ability to live totally on what you know how to grow, or can kill on your own or in a group? Is there enough food in your area to support you if you had to do this and how long would it last? I cannot see the deer and Elk populations being able to provide a population that produces its beef in feedlots to last very long. My guess is as a whole we would probably wipe them all out totally in less than a year. Same goes for fish. What happens to all of the millions of city folk who suddenly are left without food? If you are starving you will eat anything. The thought is not a comfortable one.
Technology
How long can we continue to move technology forward before it becomes smarter than us? Of all of the threats to mankind I think this is the least likely to occur simply because I think the others will happen first so we will be prevented from ever crossing the line into the terminator zone. But for god's sake, do we really need to tweet, text, Facebook, or whatever, people who are in the same room? Our society as a whole is suffering a communication meltdown. Not to mention the amount of natural resources we use making all of this crap, or what we do with it all when it stops working or the "next best thing" comes out.
Regarding your post Smiley, I agree. We have the technologies already in place to change the world in an instant. IF WE WANTED TO! But that will not happen until there is no money involved. As long as there is a buck to be made, Government and big business (read oil companies and affiliates) will never let it happen. All I can say is they had better be stocking up an island somewhere for all the officials and big-wigs to go to, because When the sh#t hits the fan, next to the Lawyers they are going to be the first bunch of guys to get shot.
In closing I'll leave you with a quote from a cartoon I saw years ago when there was a previous world wide financial hick-up. It read:
"Okay boys, buy bullets, Kleenex, and Sardines, because there's going to be an awful lot of crying going on when they figure out they can't eat gold"
