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327 comments on Why the US Political System Is Unable to React to Peak Oil: Institutions

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Magnus Redin on February 16, 2006 - 11:32am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
The long list of alternative fuels will not solve the problem if the problem is high fuel prices. It can give biomass producers lots of income, employ a lot of people and give dependable supplies but they will at best only be slight cheaper then fossil petrol and diesel since all of the fuels are traded on the same market. It is still of cource extremely worth wile to make these investments.

The cost problem hurting the general public can only be solved with more efficient cars, plug in hybrids and much less driving. Much less driving is much easier if people live in urban areas or if they have good social contacts with their neighbours. I hope my next short local newspaper article gets the title "The car is dead, long live the car" if I get it published.

The line about european style governments being able to zig and zag between obstacles and also flip over and kill you was a very good one

The Swedish "constitution" depends on the state being an benign power. The only thing stopping it from flipping over is tradition and probably that our country is quite small. There is hardly room for our politicians to become completely disconnected from the rest of the people. If they would make a complete mess they can not retire in isolation within the country but have to live with their decisions. This might have helped making it possible to sneak in non party line ideas now and then since they obviously are good ideas. Few things seems to hurt good ideas as much as making them into ideological principles or rejecting them out of ideological principles instead of cold rational analysis.

On the other hand can cold rational analysis give rise to very dumb decisions if the world view is too limited. I think we were first in the world with instituting a race-biological-institute in 1921 to analyze and prepair optimization of the Swedish race. Flipping over indeed... It led to a sterilization program for mentally retarded, economically weak people like gypsies and difficult people like hysterical what wold now be called feminists, no Jews as far as I know. In Germany the same thoughts led to death camps.

This is one of my reference points when thinking about people talking about a cull of the human race, adjusting the population to fit the resources and so on. Such ideas are deeply disturbing. Things can go to hell in ways that kills lots of unlycky or in some ways weak people but wishing for it is not sound and helping it happen in the "right" way is a way to cold evilness.

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odograph on February 16, 2006 - 11:44am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
I think the public will treat gas prices as "the problem" but that I will see them as a neccessary driver for change.

I think we are in a trap, with a lifestyle that will be maintained simply until people cannot pretend any longer.

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sr on February 16, 2006 - 2:54pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Breed the best, cull the rest? Row with the oars and use the axe on the swimmers if they try to climb in the lifeboat? White Nationalist Ecofascism? Is that what you find "deeply disturbing"? Why don't you face the music now so that you'll be ready to grab a chair when it stops?
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Magnus Redin on February 16, 2006 - 3:00pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
I rather figure out how to make the lifeboat larger.
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Don Sailorman on February 16, 2006 - 3:21pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Or maybe we can improvise many little rafts.

To build a real lifeboat is a considerable task, even if you have all the tools, materials and knowhow. Rafts are quick and easy--not as good as a lifeboat, but note that had the Titanic been equipped with the cheap kind of rafts that U.S. warships carried in World War II (Balsa wood with canvas or tape around it--had one as a kid--very cheap, unsinkable and would not capsize unless waves were driven by winds in excess of about 80 knots. Had lattice bottom so your feet were always wet, but the sharks could not get you.) By analogy, we need something quick, easy, cheap, possible to create quickly in large numbers, something effective, not necessarily something efficient or elegant.

Any ideas?

And please, no monasteries. They are no fun.

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Magnus Redin on February 16, 2006 - 3:34pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Architecture for extremely modularized and easy to mass manufacture high rise buildings that do not look awfull and can be built quickly to form urban centers in existing mall areas.

A social movement for car sharing and other local cooperation. In USA you can benefit from your religious traditions in starting such movements.

Move your capital to companies that provide post peak oil usefull products. Preferably local companies whose workers you can have a personal relation with.

Dont stockpile gold and guns, stockpile roofing material, cloth, usefull stuff that is too bulky to steal withouth a truck.

Invest in making friends.

Sweden, its a raft compared to the world population. My focus is trying to make it a little better and to be generally usefull.

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Don Sailorman on February 16, 2006 - 4:39pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Magnus, you are a genius! You have seen that the #1 best investment is friends (also children and grandchildren, for when you get old and feeble, like me;-)

With a network of friends and neighbors, with a community we can live and thrive. Without these, forget hoarding food or guns or anything at all. Hint: For security and self defense, make friends with veterans and active-duty soldiers, sailors, and Marines.

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Leanan on February 16, 2006 - 3:43pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Many little rafts is probably a better idea than one big one.  That way, a mistake by one won't drag them all down.
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Magnus Redin on February 16, 2006 - 3:52pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
The metaphor breaks down but there is nothing hindering nested peak oil rafts.

From fairly well managed countries and states to regions with significant hydro power and nuclear power to towns with good peak oil infrastructure to cooperating small size companies to cooperating neighbours to fairly self sufficient families.

Preferably organized in different ways to give better redundancy and competition that inspiers others via the net and the market. Then it will not hurt as much if some of them fails and others can learn from their failures.

There is no optimal solution. Therie is no golden road. The best I can think of is to on manny levels have social processes for finding better solutions all kinds of problems.

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liferaft on February 16, 2006 - 4:06pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
I'll put in a plug for my favorite liferaft builder: Post Carbon Institute.  From my point of view, rebuilding from the bottom up makes a lot of sense, given that the top level (Federal Goverment) is ineffective and out of control.  Rebuilding at the grassroots also empowers individuals to actually do something about the problems.
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AlanfromBigEasy on February 16, 2006 - 4:43pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
My contribution to a raft idea would be electric trolley buses.  Not as good as electric rail for urban transportation, but quick, cheap and easy to install.

Try to run one within 800 m, a half mile of everyone in an urban area.

Minimalistic, but useful.

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Don Sailorman on February 17, 2006 - 8:53am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Not only useful but a thoroughly demonstrated technology. Also, it occurs to me that the extra labor required to build the overhead rails might help to mitigate the huge unemployment problem that PO will sooner or later trigger. We can never do only one thing.

Also, the electric trolly buses I've ridden on in San Francisco seem nice and quiet and of course free of fumes . . . and reliable.

Would you like to run for president on the Electric Party ticket?

"Let's electrify transportation."

"Electrify now!"

"If elected, we shall electrify you within four years."

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chrisale on February 17, 2006 - 11:06am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
In Vancouver, BC they've been running Electrolic trolley buses for 50 years.  They run throughout the city.

While they are getting old, and are due for an upgrade before the Olympics in 2010, they definitely serve their purpose well, and who knows how much smog and money (due to very low electricity rates in BC) they've saved the tax payer over that period.

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odograph on February 17, 2006 - 5:30pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
My greatgrandfather was a Victoria BC streetcar conductor!
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327 comments on Why the US Political System Is Unable to React to Peak Oil: Institutions

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