Peak oil , war and chaos, what's our plan?

I've been following the work of Matt Simmons for a couple of years as one of the most realistic and data supported Peak Oil prophets I've read, it's good to see him getting his message out into the mainstream press as he does today in the G&M

Today's message while vintage Simmons is a little more blunt than what usually works through to the MSM.

Oil shortages "could lead to social chaos and war," he warned. "The issue is the most serious risk to sustaining the 21st century. Peak oil is real, and we have to take it seriously." He argued that production of conventional crude peaked in May, 2005, at 74 million barrels a day.

Since then, the world has met rising consumption - now at about 88-million barrels a day - by cutting inventories, tapping natural gas liquids that typically are included in crude production figures and using better refinery efficiencies.

When the media occasionally flirts with Peak oil they always talk about high prices and grumpy consumers but rarely broach the topic of the real long term shortages and how to deal with them.

When these shortages come, is the government prepared with rationing plans or the means to make sure that fuel is prioritized to basic services?

So what will be the short term response when those first temporary shortages don't go away?

Ration cards allotting so many gallons per weak?
Banning massive displacement vehicles?
Let price dictate who gets fuel?
Banning anything drive through?
Industrial holidays?
Running our dead through a Thermal Depolymerization plants
"Sunoco Green, is People!!!!!!)
Will our concerns be a moot point as the U.S. 7Th Calvary simply seizes Alberta?

If Government will not force a reduction in our oil dependence now they should at least be planning how we will deal with the chaos shortages cause. Is any of this why we've agreed to let Canadian and U.S. troops be deployed on the wrong sides of the border?

I would recommend that anyone interested in Peak Oil should have a look at some of Matt Simmons presentationsRecommend this Post

First British Human-animal hybrid created.

As reported this week the British are announced the creation of their first hybrid embryos for medical testing and stem cell creation which seems to be raising some concern from religious leaders in Britain. In this process cow eggs are fertilized using DNA from THE skin cells of humans and then harvested for stem cells after 6 days.

Medical officials claim there would be no attempts to implant the fertilized eggs which Cardinal Keith O'Brien called experiments of "Frankenstein proportion"

Personally I don't believe their claims that no attempts to implant hybrid embryos will take place considering the number of Human-animal hybrids already shambling around today.(which of course were made the old fashion way;)

Camilla in the UK


ManBearPig in the U.S.


And his Canadian cousin
ManBairdPig



Be fearful they walk among us!Recommend this Post

Climate change sceptics slapped down in new study

British scientist have completed a new study in an attempt to validate or refute claims the suns natural cycle is causing global warming not mankind's carbon releases, which was the major claim in the documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle.

The Results

Over the course of one of the Sun's natural 11-year cycles, there was a weak correlation between cosmic ray intensity and cloud cover - but cosmic ray variability could at the very most explain only a quarter of the changes in cloudiness.

And for the following cycle, no correlation was found.

The study also gives scientist an upper limit of how much the solar cycle is effecting climate change which should improve overall climate modeling. Furthermore, debunking one of the main claims of climate change sceptics supports our need to continue efforts to reduce carbon emmisions

Of course this study will be denounced as flawed by those who refuse to accept mans responsibility in global warming, it will also probably spawn new conspiracies and brand new theories why all the evil "Greenies" are wrong.

Maybe I could convince them to blame it on cats, Rap music, show tunes and brussel sprouts, all things I could live without.Recommend this Post

What the hell is up with Belinda's seat?

I was just wondering how Belinda Stronach who has been listed as the Executive Vice-Chairman of Mangna since April 2007 has not been held accountable and forced to formally resign her seat and have it declared vacant.

Belinda's web site has no updates since last spring and she has apparently only shown up to vote 4 times since April. Which is probably on average for most Liberals these days, disgusting!

What I want to know is how the hell can someone be the Executive Vice-Chairman of anything as large as Magna and claim they are representing their constituents? When she is on the hill is she there as MP or lobbyist?

Honestly I'm tired of the Belinda's hobbyist attitude towards her responsibilities and her apparent disdain for the voters of Newmarket-Aurora. Belinda's gone and we all know it but don't think this stupid lingering and not doing her job is not going to taint the Liberals come the next election.Recommend this Post

Pat Martin wants to kill the Penny

Is it time for the Penny to leave circulation? Pat Martin thinks so and will propose a private members bill to do just that.

Personally I think it's sad that we have to discard the penny because of mismanagement and gross monetary inflation that has devalued our smallest coin(s) so that they have no real value. Was the move to Loonies and Toonies so much about durability or was it more about moving them from folding money to loose change catagory preparing us for the day they would need to kill the penny and probably the nickel some short time later?

That said I'd love a 5 or 10 dollar coin as long as they put some silver in it so it would not devalue as readily as mere paper money or base metal coins have.

MP says penny makes no sense
By: Mia Rabson

Updated: March 31, 2008 at 06:19 AM CDT

OTTAWA -- NDP MP Pat Martin doesn't want a penny for your thoughts.

In fact, he doesn't want a penny at all.

The Winnipeg Centre MP will introduce a private members' bill when Parliament returns from its Easter break today that would eliminate the penny from circulation in Canada.

"It's a completely vacuous thing to hold on to," Martin said.

The Royal Canadian Mint contends it costs less than a cent to make a penny, but Martin said Library of Parliament research suggests it is as much as four cents per penny.

He said take that, together with the fact that on its own an individual penny is useless, means the penny has outlived any reason for being in Canada.

Most pennies end up in jars or under couch cushions because people don't want to use them and carrying them around is a nuisance, Martin added.

"I don't know who (the Mint is) trying to please by hanging on to it," Martin said.

The Mint has engaged repeated public opinion studies on the subject of getting rid of the penny. The most recent, released last fall, suggests 63 per cent of small retailers and 42 per cent of consumers are in favour of getting rid of the penny.

Nineteen per cent of small retailers and 33 per cent of consumers are against it, while the remainder are indifferent.

Charities are in favour of removing the penny because it would help avoid the costs associated with collecting donations of pennies, but large retailers are against the idea over fears it would limit how they could price their products.

One third of consumers who were against the idea feared it would result in prices going up as retailers would round up prices to the closest five cent mark.

Martin's legislation would require retailers on cash transactions to round final totals up or down to the nearest five or 10-cent mark. One and two cents would be rounded down to the closest 10 cent, while three and four cents would go up to the next five cents. Six or seven cents would go down to the five-cent mark and eight or nine cents would go up to the 10.

Debit and credit card transactions would not be rounded. And the legislation doesn't prevent any store from setting whatever price it wants for a product, Martin added.

"You can still price something at $9.97 if you want," he said.

The rounding would be applied only on a customer's total bill, not on individual items.

Martin said a study of the experiences in other countries that eliminated pennies found that kind of regimen was revenue neutral for retailers and cost neutral for consumers.

New Zealand and Australia have both eliminated the penny.

"Life as they knew it didn't end," Martin said.

New Zealand also eliminated its five-cent piece.

"Our currency has evolved," he said. "We have to mature with it."

Martin said the best evidence of the low value of pennies is the fact that many retailers keep a small dish of them at the till in case a customer needs one to make exact change.

"You don't see a dish of free loonies," Martin joked.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca

Recommend this Post

Peak Beer the horror of it all

So people are tired of peak oil, ignore stories of peak food, but this will hit much closer to home folks, how about Peak Beer!!!!!

That's right folks due to drought and flooding Hop supplies are at multi decade lows causing the price of hops to rise 300% and often cutting the supply right off for those smaller yummy craft brewers.

If nothing else will wake up the beer swilling climate change denying rednecks and get them off their loathsome spotty asses, maybe rising beer prices or shortages will do it. (no offense to climate change accepting beer swillers, swilling beer is a time honoured tradition.)

For humanity sake people, SAVE THE BEER!

This should be be a great ad campaign to turn the redneck vote Green.Recommend this Post

Rice: shortages, inflation and famine

I've posted a number of times on peak food and the coming crunch of real modern day famine with few if any hits or comments. I don't know if this is a lack of concern because we are a rich country or if constantly whining about Harper and Dion is really that much more fulfilling than looking at a real issue that will impoverish or kill millions.

In just the last week major rice exporters such as India and Vietnam and also Egypt have either cut or banned the export of rice outside their countries in order to maintain supply and keep their internal food inflation in check.

Vietnam will cut exports 22%, India will raise the minimum price for exports by 50% virtually killing all non Basmati exports, and Egypt will outright ban the export of rice to keep prices under control and maintain sufficient domestic supplies. Cambodia a much smaller exported also announced similar measures which when totaled with the other exporters will take a full 1/3 of the rice off of the international market.

These most recent moves have raised spot prices by 30% this week and doubling rice prices since January.

So who will get hurt the most a world rice shortages?

The poor naturally, rice is a staple for a good portion of the worlds poorest peoples. At the low end of the spectrum the poorest people already end up paying a large portion of their yearly income on food alone and for their main staple to double will mean starvation for some, and malnourishment for many more.

The Philippines and Africa both are major net importers of rice,as is the Middle East. Africa as the poorest of these regions is destined to be hurt the most aggravating a region already suffering from wars, droughts, and the disaster that is Zimbabwe.

Another major hit will be taken by aid agencies like the U.N. who will find this year their donor dollars will feed 50% less people.

Yet somehow, western nations can still justify burning grain ethanol. We should be rioting in the streets in sympathy with these people not burning their food.Recommend this Post