DrumBeat: February 22, 2007
Posted by Leanan on February 22, 2007 - 10:09am
Topic: Miscellaneous
Rising Prices of Calif. Crude Consistent with Market Changes -- GAO
Price differences between California heavy crude and benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) are "consistent" with changing market conditions and apparently not the result of price manipulation, according to a Government Accountability Office report released yesterday....The report concludes these changes are the result of several market trends.
The first is that in mid-2004 Middle East producers began increasing heavy crude supplies, which helped "depress" the prices of other heavy crudes, including California's, GAO notes.
In addition, the report says the U.S. Energy Information Administration noted that increases in global crude prices had caused the prices for light petroleum products -- including gasoline -- to rise more quickly than heavier products like residual fuel oil. That is because these heavier products compete against other fuels, including coal, that are not immediately affected by rising oil prices, GAO notes.
Pipeline building hurdles cleared
A Senate panel cleared the way Wednesday to give petroleum pipeline companies more power to seize land along existing pipelines.
Africa Tops Mideast As US Crude Source
When it comes to supplying the U.S with oil, Africa is quietly trumping the Middle East.
The truth is that we will only know the peak with the benefit of hindsight. My guess is that it’s pretty close. What is clear right now is that oil is a finite resource and that this relentless growth in demand will not be balanced by an inexhaustible capacity to increase the supply.
Often overlooked in the oil price collapse of January was an adjustment to the Goldman Sachs commodity index. By reducing the ratio of oil within the basket, Goldmans effectively forced index trackers to sell. This is a somewhat self-fulfilling mechanism, as a lower price would again see an index reduction which would again force sales and on we go.
Homemade Hydro Power Lights Up Tajikistan
Electricity is restricted to three hours a day in the region's administrative centre Khorog. Schools, factories and construction projects have shut down and bread shortages have been reported. Residents are coping with freezing winter temperatures by chopping down trees to burn as fuel and sending children to stay with relatives with wood burning stoves....Such hardships have forced Tajiks living in rural communities to take matters into their own hands. Some villagers in isolated and mountainous regions have built mini-hydroelectric stations which can provide electricity for an entire village.
Eni CEO Says One of Eni Hostages in Nigeria Freed
Russia's Upper House OKs Kazakh Caspian Sea Oil Pact
Russia's Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, Wednesday ratified amendments to an agreement between Russia and Kazakhstan to divide the northern part of the Caspian Sea bed, including oil fields, ITAR-TASS reported.
The world's biggest wave energy farm is to be built off the Scottish coast.
Martha's Vineyard: Islanders tap geothermal energy - the heat beneath their feet
When it comes to alternative energy choices, some Islanders look no further than the ground beneath their feet. Geothermal energy provided by heat absorbed in the earth from the sun offers them a free, clean, renewable energy source for heating, cooling, and water heating in their homes and businesses.
The Economic, Social & Technological Case for Renewable Energy
For 200 years industrial civilization has relied on the combustion of abundant and cheap carbon fuels. But continued reliance has had perilous consequences. On the one hand there is the insecurity of relying on the world's most unstable region -- the Middle East -- compounded by the imminence of peak oil, growing scarcity and mounting prices. On the other, the potentially cataclysmic consequences of continuing to burn fossil fuels, as the evidence of accelerating climate change shows.
Bush asked to help states fund fuel aid
A coalition of U.S. senators yesterday asked the White House to release $200 million in emergency funding for home heating because states are running out of money, and winter is far from over.
Nigeria: Intellectuals and Challenge of Energy Crisis
With our enormous petroleum and gas resources, no one in his right senses would expect that in 2007, Nigerians would still be suffering from the scarcity of fuel, kerosene, cooking and industrial gas in the manner we are experiencing such now. Normally, I do not like making comparisons between Nigeria and Botswana because of differences in population size and ethnic composition, but I am constrained to do so here. Imagine the case of Botswana, which imports all its petroleum and gas products, and yet it enjoys a steady supply of these products. The Botswana government maintains a stabilization fund to cushion the harsh effects of fluctuating international oil prices on the domestic consumers.
Nigeria: How I'll Tackle Fuel Crisis, By Yar'adua
The People Democratic Party's (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Umarau Musa Yar'Adua has said that he would encourage the establishment of four new refineries in the country with a view to tackling fuel scarcity.
Deep Concern Expressed about Recent LNG Approval, Offshore Boston
The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) is deeply concerned that two offshore, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), projects for Massachusetts Bay were recently permitted.
Imperial rations gasoline to Ontario Esso stations
Gasoline shortages following a refinery fire has forced the closure of nearly a fifth of Imperial Oil Ltd.'s 400 company-owned Esso service stations in Ontario, as the company rations supplies to dealers.
Iran: Unstable, troubled oil giant
Oil production, which peaked at about 6 million barrels a day in the late 1970s, now hovers at around 3.5 million, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). With worldwide production at about 84 million barrels daily, Iran ranks as the world's fourth-largest producer.Moreover, a growing population and economy, combined with huge government subsidies, is leading to a surge in domestic consumption, according to the energy agency.
South Africa: Country Gears Up to Start Enriching Uranium
Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said yesterday SA would launch a uranium-beneficiation programme before year-end to tighten control over uranium reserves to secure nuclear fuel supplies for SA's growing electricity needs.
Cyprus: No Plans to Involve Greece in Exploration Row with Turkey
Cyprus said on Wednesday that it does not intend to embroil Greece in plans for the offshore exploration of oil and gas amid opposition from Turkey, which has warned the move could fuel tensions in the region.
Hearing to probe climate change and Inuit rights
Inuit activists hope a hearing on Arctic climate change by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will lead to reduced emissions and will help to protect the culture of the northern native people.
Greenpeace asks India to ban common lightbulb
Binding cuts in carbon emissions agreed by EU
Faced with the latest, drastic predictions of the effects of climate change, European countries have agreed to a fresh cut in CO2 emissions of one-fifth and to press for a global reduction of 30 per cent.
Md. House Approves Cut in Car Pollution
The House of Delegates overwhelmingly approved legislation yesterday that could make Maryland the 12th state to force carmakers to slash emissions thought to cause global warming.
Carbon offsets 'harm environment'
The current trend for "offsetting" carbon emissions by planting trees is doing more harm to the environment than good, MPs have been told.The public is being "seriously misled" by companies peddling carbon offset schemes, campaigner Jutta Kill told the environmental audit committee.
Dutch Employers Fear Cost of New Govt's Green Drive
The new Dutch cabinet's green proposals, including higher taxes on fuel and air tickets, will hurt business and are best dealt with on a European level, the head of the country's main employers' group said on Wednesday.
New Alternative Fuel Directory Features Over 2200 E85 and Biodiesel Retail Locations Nationwide
EU plans more aid for ASEAN energy program
Seven of the program's projects are located in Indonesia, including a 4.2 megawatt (MW) rice husk-fueled power plant in Bolang, North Sulawesi, and a 10 MW palm oil residue-fueled power plant in Riau.
John Michael Greer: Magical thinking
I had a useful reminder of this the other day, thanks to one of the readers of The Archdruid Report, who critiqued my recent post “Technological Triage” with a certain degree of heat. One of his central points was that technology is here to stay, no matter what the future holds, because it’s better than any alternative. “What is certain is that ‘technology’ will not disappear,” he wrote: “...the engineer’s outlook and the scientist’s methods will continue to be applied to problems. And they will continue to provide better results for questions involving the physical world than magical thinking of any sort.”
Tom Whipple - The Peak Oil Crisis: CERA Week 2007
Now, some of you may recall that the Cambridge Energy folks are the ones who don’t believe peak oil is imminent. They believe this so fervently that they are constantly issuing papers and writing articles “proving” that geological limits to the continued expansion of oil supplies are decades away. Thus it seems natural that when Cambridge Energy orchestrates an energy convention, it starts with the underlying premise that the world economy and oil production will continue to grow nicely for at least the next 25 years.
Alternative energy goes after investor dollars
Executives from some of the world's leading alternative energy companies argued their case to big investors Wednesday, outlining why money thrown into the red-hot sector will pay off.Much of the rationale centered around costs, which leaders of renewable energy firms contend are dropping at a breakneck clip.
Climate Change: Is It Prudent to Wait?
The thoughtful proponents of waiting include Robert J Samuelson of Newsweek who argues that governments and individuals won't accept the required "draconian restrictions on economic growth and personal freedom." David Montgomery of CRA International believes that dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will only be economically viable with some as-yet-undiscovered technologies. Both suggest delay until an aggressive research and development program produces these new technologies.
Kazakhstan Threatens Chevron Suspension
Kazakhstan threatened Wednesday to suspend Chevron Corp.'s license for operations at a giant Caspian Sea oil field and gave the U.S. energy giant a month to come up with a plan to remove hazardous waste.
Non-OPEC nations gain power on energy front
With global oil output barely covering demand, Russia and other countries outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are wielding more sway. They're affecting the price of oil and everything made from it.Indeed, when world energy leaders gathered in Houston last week to dissect industry issues, their remarks were translated from English into only two other languages — Russian and Chinese.
Unconventional oil: Think of the volumes, not the quality
For decades, doomsayers have wailed that we are running out of oil, and economists have replied smugly that price rises would always bring forth extra supply. A new report from the consultancy, Wood Mackenzie, suggests that both may be right and that will lead to some difficult choices.
Venezuela Orinoco May Top World Oil
Exploration wells in Alaska Arctic waters OK'd
Regulators have approved Royal Dutch Shell’s plan to drill up to four exploration wells in Arctic waters off the northern coast of Alaska this summer.
Shell Says 'Committed' to Qatar's Pearl Project Despite ExxonMobil Move
Royal Dutch Shell PLC is proceeding with the construction of the Pearl gas-to-liquid complex in Qatar, despite a decision by rival ExxonMobil Corp to cancel its own US $7 billion GTL project due to cost pressures."We're absolutely committed to the (Pearl) project," a Shell spokesman told AFX News.
For the first time in six years, Russia is intentionally lowering the export of its natural gas (by 3.7 billion cubic meters as compared to 2006), so as to direct the gas into Russia’s regions. In the pre-election year, Gazprom head Alexei Miller guarantees that 62 percent of Russian territory will be gasified, instead of the planned 60 percent. Gazprom will compensate the extracted profits by changing the structure of gas export. It will make Gazprom more dependent on Russia’s relations with Central Asia countries.
The Year of the Pig and the Coming Trip to the Slaughterhouse
Oil was the latest victim of investor momentum, also known as “piling in” or “piling out”. After the crowd was climbing over one another and reports were being issued daily about peak oil and the energy crisis, the piling in became piling out and we saw a swoon down to $50. There, yours truly removed his bearish hat but has yet to put his bullish hat on. I suspect we may work our way lower for the balance of 2006 barring a major negative geopolitical and/or weather event. Ideally, a retest of the $50 area after many months in an orderly decline would be the most preferred entry point. Stay tuned.
Exponology: [Crap] Happens. Real Fast.
The peak oil theorists at The Oil Drum have analyzed the numbers on China, and the results are pure exponology:"The increase in Chinese oil consumption in the past years is mostly seen as a recent development, supposedly driven by the industrial development of China. In reality, the growth in Chinese oil consumption has been the same in the past two decades. Between 1990 and 1999 annual oil consumption growth in China was 6% on average. Between 2000 and 2006 the average annual oil consumption growth in China was 7%. Also the 2004 anomaly of 13% growth in a single year is nothing new. In 1993 Chinese oil consumption growth happened to be 10%. This misconception of Chinese oil consumption growth is a typical example of underestimating the power of exponential growth. Between 1990 and 1999, absolute growth was around 2 million barrels per day (mb/d), from 2.3 mb/d in 1990 to 4.4 mb/d in 1999. In the past seven years, absolute growth has been 3 mb/d per day according to preliminary figures, from 4.4 mb/d in 1999 to 7.36mb/d in 2006. If this present trend continues, the demand for oil (and other liquid fuels) in China will grow to 9.2 mb/d in 2010 and 12.4 mb/d in 2015."
But whatever we do, we better tackle the exponents that are killing us softly with their siren songs of an uninterrupted life of consumption and convenience.
Cuba's known for cigars now, but oil could change that
Cuba. The island nation long has been known for its aromatic cigars and sweet rums. But after years of limited oil production on lands around Havana and in neighboring Matanzas province, Cuba is poised for a significant expansion of its oil program into the waters that separate it from the United States. And thanks to U.S. law, Cuba's drilling partners will be working closer to Florida beaches than any American company ever could.
Crude oil prices climb above $60 a barrel
Oil prices jumped Wednesday, topping $60 a barrel for the first time this year as a series of closings at oil fields and refineries combined to spark some supply jitters.The price of a barrel of crude oil trading for delivery in April rose $1.22 to $60.07. That was the highest price this year and was up more than 17% from a month ago.
Cleaner Coal Is Attracting Some Doubts
A major new study by faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, scheduled for release soon, concludes in a draft version that it is not clear which technology — the so-called integrated gasification combined cycle or pulverized coal — will allow for the easiest carbon capture, because so much engineering work remains to be done.
Expert: Ethanol industry will grow (Someone already posted this one yesterday, but the debate about topsoil in the reader comments is kind of interesting.)
We Can Drive On Solar Power Now
Electric can replace gas in cars; but not if GM and Chevron have their way.
Report warns water crisis looming in arid Southwest
The fast-growing states of the arid Southwest must plan for more severe droughts because of a regional warming trend that shows no signs of dissipating, says a new assessment of the Colorado River's water supply.
The Community Solution – Peak
Oil Update 2/21/07
Peak Oil and climate change require a revolutionary approach to all aspects of our lives. To date much attention has been placed on the automobile's use of energy with secondary emphasis on food. But the energy used (and CO2 generated) by the automobile or from food production is less than the energy used in our buildings. Furthermore, building energy consumption has been continually increasing in spite of improvements in building and appliance efficiency. Once more we are reminded that our problems are not solvable simply by improving technology.
There is an article at Schlumberger's (Are Future Reserves Out of Our Reach) - with an interesting sidenote saying that ..
http://www.bea.gov/briefrm/saving.htm
I posted this link on the open thread yesterday. It's a quarter by quarter bar chart showing US personal savings rate. It went negative in the second quarter of 2005, at the same time that we saw a sharp increase in oil prices, which also corresponded to the--so far--all time peak world crude + condensate production in May, 2005.
So, the average monthly Brent spot price in the 20 months after 5/05 was close to two-thirds higher than the 20 months prior to 5/05 and the US Personal Savings Rate has been negative since about 5/05 (which was the middle of the second quarter).
I'm sure that poorer Americans--and those who are heavily in debt--are getting hit hardest right now. If you are spending more than your income, what do you do?
As Jay Hanson, et al, have pointed out, getting more and bigger stuff is more fun than downsizing. It's no fun to put up a for sale sign and tell your neighbors that you are downsizing to a small two bedroom apartment along a mass transit line, or within walking distance of your job.
Why not hang on? After all, CERA is the acknowledged energy expert group, and they say that we don't have to worry about real oil problems for probably decades. And so it goes, with poorer and more indebted Americans losing their homes now.
There was a pretty interesting discussion on CNBC this morning. The general theme was that the housing bust (relative to mortgage lenders) is going to be limited to the subprime market--kind of the same way that forced energy conservation was limited to regions like Africa last year. As someone has pointed out, "Demand Destruction" is a euphemism for "Death and Conflict."
IMO, it is much later than most of think, and "Demand Destruction" is moving relentlessly up the food chain.
One question: Has anyone who has followed my ELP advice had reason to regret it?
Never having heard of Westexas in 2004, and learning about PO, I sold up in Southern CA, moved to Colorado and did the "ELP" thing with mixed results. Positives: Much healthier, relaxed, and more social lifestyle. Negatives: Family lost interest when the sky did not fall (yet) and missed "the good life".
Personally, I now think the scope of what we are facing is beyond ELP's help. Someone said it well: "Until we change the way money works, nothing else matters". We will remain in servitude as long as our labor and wealth is siphoned away through inflation and taxation.
My advice: ELP is a good thing, but make absolutely sure your family is onboard with how far you are taking it.
Francois, Jeffrey,
Thee is nothing wrong with ELP. There's something wrong with us. We have become, in rapid progression, children of nuclear families. It's the sole reference we have.
In a poorer society, either the ones we had here in the past, or those that exist today all over the world, making decisions such as required by ELP would implicate your family, friends, neighbors, your entire community.
We no longer have communities in that sense. Our decisions have to a much larger degree become individual ones, just as we lead much more individual lives.
The danger in that, is the probability that we will soon become far more reliant, once again, on community life. Individualism is as much a product of our energy surplus as anything else is. The more people have the opportunity to travel between communities, if only on TV, the less they are part of any of them.
So yes, maybe there is a problem with ELP: it's based to a large extent on our notion of ourselves as separate beings, which is not where we came from, nor where we're going. Along with all other measures, we have to learn how to build a community. Which will be hard, as evidenced by the fact that even our own families resist what we see as necessary.
I agree. That was one of the interesting things about what Richard Rainwater is doing. He is basically increasing his ability to grow his own food and integrating himself into small town life in the Carolinas.
I was just trying to edit the post, but got an access denied return. You were faster.
What I tried to write is that first, ELP is the best advice out there, and I don't at all mean to criticize, and second, that maybe we can slip in a C for community into the model.
I have suggested before adding an H for humanize, for two reasons. First, many things currently done using fossil fuels are likely to be done by humans in the future. As it takes time to learn the necessary skills, one would do well to begin now. Second, as you say above, human relationships are going to be critically important to getting by with less. As human relationships also take time to cultivate, beginning now would be a good idea from that point of view as well.
HELP
Seems appropriate.
:-)
As I once wrote in a private email to Jeffrey, (back before the TOD comments sections got a much needed enema)I am only 2/3 on board with ELP. My path is EMP. Instead of localizing, I am mobilizing. My issue with localizing is that the next several decades are going to be roiled with not only PO but upheavals in politics and climate. A place that will be excellent in 2015 might be a hell hole in 2020. If one is tied to land, what do you do when the multiyear drought comes?
Throughout history many people have been nomads. Portable wealth and portable skills are another path to survival.
"Throughout history many people have been nomads. Portable wealth and portable skills are another path to survival."
Nomadism is totally not about individuals with "portable wealth and portable skills". Nomadism is tribal and hyper-conservative.
It seems to me that the last thing you want to be when
TSHTF is a stranger in town. You want to be a well-known, trusted local. Someone that people can trust not to just move on when the going gets a bit rough. That's just one step removed from an opportunistic parasite.
Not saying that being mobile isn't a plausible individual survival strategy, but please don't dignify it with the term "nomad".
Some of us are in special circumstances. Traditionally persecuted minorities (religious, ethnic, sexual) do not have a homeland anywhere. However modern outcasts have a archipelago of ghettos to shift through. At the present time, Jews have Israel, but managed to survive for several centuries prior by keeping on the move. If one is a gypsy (Rom) or in a same sex marriage, conditions haven't changed at all. Economic crisis will make traditional scapegoats more vunerable.
The trick is to learn to sense the coming pogrom or witch burning before it starts and pack quickly. I smelled the torches and pitchforks during the 2004 US election campaign, and fled to New Zealand PDQ. As far as mobility goes, a sailboat with a stash of bullion or similar classic lightweight trade goods (loose diamonds, pearls) will take one a lot of places even when the planes are grounded.
MH,
On the one hand, your points are well taken. But my point would be along the lines that the Jews did not survive as individuals, but rather as a very communal entity. Ditto Rom, gays, blacks, etc.
Point being, whether your community is fixed or "nomadic", it seems to me that you clearly want to be a part of a community.
Unless your only goal is individual survival, but that's a whole different story. And if the people you are with sense that your game is your own individual survival, vs. the survival of the community, whatever it may be, well, good luck to you.
Actually, there are problems for a mobile survivor, but they are more of an internal nature. It is the 21st (Sky TV) century almost everywhere, and communitites are rather loose and ephemeral. When the chips are down, people will take care of their immediate family above all else. Cousin John or the old lady next door are low on the list of priorities.
The problem is likely to be the problem faced by the Europeans with resources and foresight who fled Europe in the 1930s. They survived, and prospered, while most of their old friends and neighbors died. No matter how comfortable, many of these folks were haunted by what is called "survivor guilt" for the rest of their days. For many people it might actually be preferable to stay in place wherever they are and suffer the same fate as their friends, even unto death. For my part, I have chosen to risk suvivor guilt.
As much as I like your mobility idea, I can imagine restrictions to travel. Toward maintaining the political and territorial integrity of nation states, I could imagine some kind of system which would specify where you belong and do not belong. This could morph into an actual breakup of large nations like the US into regional centers which might develop their own cultural identities and hostilities to outsiders. Traveling could end up being very hazardous subjecting the traveler to robbery.
I do not pretend to be an expert. I just suspect that much of what we count on, one being freedom of movement, could end up being a scarcity.
consider the dinosaurs, the survivors are the smaller - more mobile ones (i.e. birds).
Humanize can mean a zillion different things, though, you'd spent half an hour just explaining which one you mean. Fro some people it can mean the opposite of what it is to you.
The idea is good, the word is not. Adopt advertising tactics: fast and furious. 10 words or less shpuld convey the message. WT has that down for ELP.
Stoneleigh -
I had been thinking about exactly the same thing - adding an "H" to make HELP.
I was inspired by the song "Rehumanize Yourself" by the Police:
"I work all day in a factory
Building a machine that's not for me
There must be a reason that I can't see
You got to humanize yourself...
Rehumanize yourself
Rehumanize yourself"
etc etc
- from their album "Ghost in the Machine"
I agree with the community part - I think it is perhaps the essential part.
I'm frustrated of late with my attempts to implement the things I know I need to do. It's not that we've made no progress, but not enough, and I feel I'm running out of time. The problem is the job treadmill I'm on now - I'm working more and more at a job I know is not going to last, just so I can maintain the pay and benefits (i.e. health insurance) a bit longer. I'm left with not enough time to make the preparations I know I should be making. I can only imagine how I'll feel if I get burned by the very things I expected to happen but failed to take appropriate action.
It's not easy to get off the ride though - the timing is the hard part. But it's becoming more and more obvious that the job is a losing proposition. I've got plans for another way to support my family, and I've got to get moving - I just hope there is time.
We were a community before Katrina in New Orleans (dysfunctional for sure, but a community). Post-Katrina we have become a much tighter community, and more functional. EVERYONE not flat on their back (and many that are) is doing SOMETHING to help. We each search and find some need to fill.
See my to do list today below.
Best Hopes,
Alan
My recent favorite bumper sticker "New Orleans - We put the Fun into Funeral"
That's what I meant
Did see you list earlier, too. Impressive.
Jeffrey,
Your comments on Richard Rainwater on interesting. I would imagine a billionaire would have trouble integrating into a small community. Kinda like the nice gorilla that asks if it is OK to sit on the sofa. "Sure, You betcha! Can I get you banana? How about a bunch of bananas?" The power and wealth differential is huge. I can't imagine how it would work in the long run.
But I wish him well. If you are accurate, he is on the right track. Money will not inoculate us.
I imagine your sources are personal; if there is a link, can you provide it.
It reminds me of one of early TOD'ers (2005) who moved on. Was it Bubba? He recounted a party he attended by VERY wealthy people. He told them about Peak Oil. They hardly blinked. They wanted to know how to make money from it and clearly were planning to buy their way out of any trouble it might bring.
The Rainwater article in Fortune (December, 2005):
http://www.energybulletin.net/11695.html
It is exactly the feeling that I got, looking around in my own town..
What the heck is ELP?
Economize--Try to live on half or less of your current income
Localize--Minimize the distance between home and work (and/or take mass transit)
Produce--Try to become or work for a provider of essential goods and services
Asebius - thanx for asking - I googled and kept getting Emerson, Lake, and Palmer... ;-)
westexas's ELP is his own creation. His advice to all to prepare for whatever comes down the pipe (or doesn't come down the pipe).
Francois said:
What would be your situation if there were no government to tax you? Who would supply the roads, water, and police? Who would enforce standards of quality and safety? How would exchange be handled?
These questions are the ones with which i torment myself when I too resent the government stealing part of my income. I have seen in third world countries the result of impoverished governments, and have read about the dire circumstances of people living with no government.
There is a difference between fair taxation (say at the local level for schools, etc, or gasoline tax for roads), and taxing the US population for things such as bloated federal government, wars that benefit the corporate industrialist, and spending the huge social security and medicare surplusses of the past on pork.
And stealth taxes (i.e. through inflation) is totaly immoral in my opinion. During the 19th century we had a money system that had NO (zilch) inflation over 100 years. You could buy in 1900 for a dollar what you could in 1800. So when Cheney says "deficits dont matter", what he means is that the goverment can spend whatever it wants, and send the taxpayers the bill by merely monetizing the deficits - i.e. spreading the cost of the new money over the existing monetary base. And what makes this worse is that the central banks co-ordinate their currency support such that e.g. when America runs a deficit, the bank of Japan prints Yen to buy dollars. All this means is that the cost of our deficits are also carried by the Japanese, and the Europeans, etc.
You got me started!
Francois.
elp..
just choose wisely which company you move close too. not many of them will make it..
I probably should ask a more general question: Has anyone who has voluntarily downsized had reason to regret it?
I sold my car about a year ago. I haven't regretted it at all. I may be cheating because my girlfriend has a car, and we can get anywhere we want using it. I take mass-transit to work, but I was doing that before anyway because the cost of parking downtown is horrendous. I enjoy not worrying about having to bring my car in for oil changes anymore. The rare time I do need a car I either rent one or use flexcar.
actually west Texas. i would like from you a nice list of what company's you think will survive the sea-change in the rules of the game we call civilization imposed by nature because the 'localize' part of your plan involves chaining yourself to one employer. so really doing so without knowing how long said employer will stay alive and kicking is foolish.
of course people like you who are old(50+) and have built up a nice nest egg don't need to worry about silly stuff like this because your no longer in your mid 20's, poor(despite the fact i am one of the few people here in America with a positive savings account), and basicly a wage slave with no land or enough money to get it.
I'll try to post something today or this weekend, but in general my advice has been: "Cut thy spending and get thee to the non-discretionary side of the economy."
In regard to the generational question, I'll have to paraphrase, but Jim Kunstler said that the younger generation(s) are going to tell the Baby Boomers that they screwed things up royally (Social Security comes to mind), so crawl off and die.