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46 comments on A personal question

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Peaknik on October 1, 2005 - 5:05am Permalink | Subthread | Comments top
It is interesting to see how some occupations can "collide" head on with our interest in peak oil... Imagine you're working in the car industry, or the tourism sector... or just in some part of the consumerist industry...

I am in such a position... and I wrote this just to let the steam off... (would be nice to hear some oppinion about this, what happens if your mind and your job go in opposite directions?)

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Leanan on October 1, 2005 - 9:56am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
I feel your pain.  I'm an engineer, currently employed in the field of highway design.  My other skills are also high-tech (3d design and graphics, computers, etc.).  

But I think workers today understand that nothing is forever.  Peak oil may mean a much bigger disruption than, say, the switch to integrated circuits or the collapse of the aerospace industry were, but we'll adapt.  Lots of people find themselves having to switch fields for one reason or another.  There are just going to be a lot more of us this time.

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step back on October 2, 2005 - 9:32am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Peak Oil is orders of magnitude a bigger problem than the switch from vacuuum tubes to transistors. It is a Category 6. It is a tsunami. People could not "adapt" to the December 2004 tsunami. It wiped out everything.

Oil is not simply another source of "energy". It is plastics. It is roadways (asphalt). It is in everything. I strongly suggest you sit through the entire Fate of Humanity show:
http://www.peakoilandhumanity.com/
to get a better grasp of what is involved.

Sorry to be the bearer of depressing news.

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Leanan on October 2, 2005 - 10:15am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Dude, I know all that.  I'm an engineer.  I understand the laws of thermodynamics.  I know what we make out of oil, and how dependent we are on it.  Moreover, my father is an agronomist.  So I well know we are "eating oil."  

I always have, actually, since Dad told me about Malthus at  when other dads were telling their kids bedtime stories.  Maybe that's why I'm not particularly upset about it.  I've been expecting it all my life.

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step back on October 2, 2005 - 12:09pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
My dad told me bedtime stories. My dad told me he was 101% sure the smart people up there are taking care of everything. Guess I feel betrayed.

What I do not share with you is this faith-based belief that our society will magically adapt. Exactly how are we going to adapt? What mechanisms exist in our society to allow it to adapt? There are all too many status quo mechanisms that prevent it from adapting.

FYI, I used to be an engineer. I used to worship at the altar of Murphy's law and Mother Nature's laws. Then I defected into a work world where you merely have to "persuade" people of what is true and what is not. In this new world, I find that people are highly irrational. They think they "think", but mostly they operate off of raw emotions. They have no concept of what critical thinking is is.

And guess what? It is these irrationally exuberent people who have the power and control the directions in which our society moves. Take a look at the massive Energy Bill that Congress recently passed. You call that "adaptation"?

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Leanan on October 2, 2005 - 1:00pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
The person I was responding to was talking about his career concerns.  I was responding only in that limited area.  He's worried about having to switch careers, and I was just pointing out that everyone who chooses a high-tech field knows it probably won't last forever.  

After all, if the "sudden crash" scenario comes to pass, and he's freezing to death in the dark, I doubt career concerns will be high on his list of priorities.  

I certainly don't think we will "magically" adapt.  We will adapt, no doubt, but it could be brutal.  

I am sure we will not change until forced to...but I think we are already being forced to.  The high price of gasoline has already started demand destruction.  People are driving less, spending less, buying smaller cars.  George Bush, Mr. "We need to encourage consumption," is rolling out a national energy conservation plan this week.  Dracula is calling on his vampires to become vegetarians.  Reality eventually impinges even on those who make their own reality.

Of course, in the long run, a slow collapse could be even worse for us, but that's another story.

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46 comments on A personal question

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