Hello;
Long time reader, first time poster. While I agree that society needs to power down, I think Matt realizes this also. In many speeches, I have heard him say that his big worry was true oil shortages. While most people on this site realize that our “Just In Time” world leaves us vulnerable to many single points of failure, the average person just assumes things will be BAU. Most cities have only about a week’s worth of food on hand. Things could get real ugly real fast if the transport trucks stopped because of fuel shortages. How many meals are we away from collapse?

I think Matt wants to make people realize that things are bad and are going to get worst. The problem is that nobody truly believes him. They are hoping for some miracle solution that will allow BAU. The problem is how do you get people to face problems they don’t know exist and they feel powerless to change?

All solutions for alternate energy will take decades to make a real difference to society as a whole. How do we get from here to there? How do we convince people and governments that we need radical change? Remember it is not only the king who shoots the bearer of bad news. I know, I have the scars to show for trying to talk to people. I have lost more than a few good friends when I tried to talk to them about the coming problems. I now only say that “I will be damn if I give the greedy oil companies one penny more than I have to.” This is acceptable but all talk of oil shortages is not.

I think Matt is trying to change the “Happy days are here again” attitude by harping on the aging workforce and rusting assets. This is a message that is not too far out in left field for most of his audiences but he still is mentioning that there no magic Shangri-La of oil that will save our behinds.

I don’t blindly accept everything Matt says but I respect his attempt to get people to stand up and take a clear look at our energy situation. It is blacker than Matt lets on but it would only turn off the audience and they would stop listening if he was talking about how bad things are really going to get.

I think we can power society down and it does not have to be a collapse but only if we have very great leaders. So I guess it is time to find a quiet hidey hole. :)

I really enjoy the web site, lots great information. Keep up the good work!

I think part of the problem is that demand destruction that takes place with high priced oil is not toward the oil products themselves. Instead, people cut back their purchases of restaurant food, new cars, and all kinds of goods that they can easily cut back on. One ends up with a round about cutback in oil. In the US, the cutback is clearly there, if you measure it correctly. Part of the problem may be the confusing EIA weekly statistics, that are often revised downward.

It doesn't take a very big drop in demand to cause a big drop in the price of oil.