The Oil Drum

144 comments on DrumBeat: December 2, 2007

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FMagyar on December 2, 2007 - 7:40pm

Fair enough, since I posted publicly about my personal life I accept your comments and there is no need to apologize. My relationship with my family is actually quite good and we do communicate quite regularly notwithstanding the impression I may have given. Even my attempt at raising my concerns will most certainly not cause them to disown me completely, granted I may now have the permanent reputation as wacky one, that's all fine. BTW as may be apparent from my comment my family has a more global perspective than most US residents and I could say they are quite worldly and rather well educated. One comment that struck me the most was "what are you talking about there is nothing to indicate a major crisis over here" This was from a sibling who lives in Germany. I asked her to listen to Albert Barlett's lecture about Arithmetic, Population and Energy http://globalpublicmedia.com/lectures/461
I Think you are close to the mark with this comment:"Are people ready for so much reality, no matter how well meant?"
My conclusion is obviously not. Cheers!

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expat on December 3, 2007 - 2:26am

Just a quick note - the German relative is living in a country with essentially zero population growth, with active programs to develop alternative energy sources while reducing energy use, where 'bio' (organic) produce is becoming increasingly common in all retail outlets (partially due to Green policies when they were in power), where rail and community transit is efficient and widespread, where towns are walkable, where most people own a bike, after having learned in elementary school how to ride a bike in traffic....

Quite honestly, the list goes on. The German automobile industry may be in for some major problems, along with the German economy in general, but 'crisis' is simply not the right term to apply for a typical German - including the fact that most Germans are very aware of the points you likely raised, in not necessarily in the terms you may have used.

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FMagyar on December 3, 2007 - 7:12am

Right I'm quite aware of all that. I was trying to make her aware that the reality in the US is a bit different than what it is in Germany, maybe I was naive but I still think that the US is heading into a crisis situation. BTW She is a native born American raised in Brazil and has lived in Europe for over 20 years. She also travels extensively around the world due to her job.