<What are Chevron and Shell trying to tell us The Oil Drum A closer IEA look at Saudi Arabian production>

19 comments on A little snippet that may not be as good as it sounds

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

| Show without comments | PDF version

george in vermont on November 8, 2005 - 10:38am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
This could be a watershed moment -- only a few weeks ago in the WSJ's new weekend edition, they editorialized about "The Bottomless Well", adding "shale oil" and the Alberta tar sands to the worldwide supply of oil.

I sent them a letter debunking their arguments, borrowing from Heinberg and throwing in a shot at the folly of the expected hydrogen economy, but surprise, surprise, the only letter they printed about that story was one that suggested that ANWR not be counted as a single year's equivalent to US consumption, but as x million barrels per year over a certain number of years.

No news to you folks but I believe that Wall Street in particular has a lot to fear from Peak Oil. The impact on the stock market could be devastating. My personal view is that PO won't result in the end of the world, but the end of the middle class.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.
step back on November 8, 2005 - 5:23pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
The era of "middle class" ended long ago, when dad lost his factory job and mom had to go to work to "supplement" the declining real income.
Comments can no longer be added to this story.
george in vermont on November 8, 2005 - 5:32pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Perhaps you're right and that was the "peak" of the middle class. But I suspect we have a long way to go. Wealth will be concentrated among a small number of people (as it mostly is today anyway), and the rest of us will be back serving as low-paid and low-class servants, farmers, lumberjacks, boatmen and milkmen. If we're lucky.
Comments can no longer be added to this story.
Donal on November 8, 2005 - 6:02pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Time to watch Masterpiece Theatre and brush up on my hat-tipping and groveling.

Seriously though, I agree that the loss of high-paying, blue collar jobs overseas has already hurt the middle class, but I also suspect that high-paying, white collar jobs, like mine, are going to be scarcer in a post-peak world.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.
george in vermont on November 8, 2005 - 6:14pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Study with an expert and watch Anthony Hopkins in Remains of the Day!

With less energy supporting our society, we will lose a layer or two of complexity in our economy, and complexity is what gave rise to the populous white-collar class.

I'm already experiencing what this will be like myself. I'm a former globe-trotting, big city corporate communications manager now living in rural Vermont. It's quite a change. A lot of the people around here are very self-sufficient, and get by on very little compared to city and suburban folks.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

19 comments on A little snippet that may not be as good as it sounds

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

| Show without comments | PDF version