Comments on China is Coming - or - Just How Big IS a Billion, Anyway??

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Yes, I am afraid America is on its way down

It's tragic -- we had the imagination, spirit, and technology to prevent this from happening decades ago -- and profit-driven interests stalled it everywhere they could... and we are going to pay for it dearly.

posted by Cella on August 5, 2004 at 1:06 PM | link to this | reply

With Respect, Tamara...

...you need to do a LOT more reading on this!

Yes, we have eight more planets. How many have we got to so far. None! And how do we propell space vehicles currently. Using oil! It's a multi-billion dollar project just to send guys to Mars, which will be a several-year journey, and that's the closest planet. So don't hold your breathe on that one!

You say..."When coal began to run out, did the world collapse?  No." In fact, coal never began to run out. It just became less economic to extract than oil, and caused more pollution. Now, with oil over $40 a barrel (maybe permanently?) coal is coming back into fashion. And we still have at least 150-years worth of seams yet to mine.

"We have tons of untapped resources." Care to be more specific? 

"There is enough energy in mass the size of an egg to handle the needs of the planet, if we could but unleash it." Don't understand this.

"If there were no friction, you could send a ship off at the speed of light with a simple kiss." But there IS friction! 

Oil is not about to run dry. Oil production is, however, about to peak, and in order to make up future shortfalls, we may be forced to go for smaller, harder-to-get oil reserves. And harder-to-get means more expensive. $40 today could pale into insignificance against a possible $80 a barrel in 5 years or so.

Greed is what got us into this hole in the first place. Greed is not going to get us out.

D

posted by DamonLeigh on August 3, 2004 at 5:21 AM | link to this | reply

I think we have more resources than you give us credit for......and five more Earths isn't as far fetched as you might think.  We have 8 other planets just in our solar system, and that doesn't include any of those newfound asteroid thingies out there awaiting official classification.

What did we do before oil?  We used candles, coal, and did without.  When coal began to run out, did the world collapse?  No.  As one door closed, someone opened another door......and the Industrial Revolution took off like a bat outta hell.

We have tons of untapped resources.  There is enough energy in mass the size of an egg to handle the needs of the planet, if we could but unleash it.   If there were no friction, you could send a ship off at the speed of light with a simple kiss.  The problem isn't that there won't be any left.  The problem is that what we CURRENTLY use is running out. 

I'm depending on good old fashioned GREED to get us through this.......the companies that have made trillions on oil are not going to just pack up and go home when the oil runs dry.  Necessity is the mother of invention, and what a mutha it will be if we don't.

--T99

posted by Tamara99 on August 3, 2004 at 5:09 AM | link to this | reply

I'm Not Sure...

...that these are problems seeking solutions, as such.

This is a siutation we are facing, and we're going to have to get used to the fallout, at least in the short term.

In the longer term, we need an entire re-think on how we live on this planet, and particular on the voracious type of consumer capitalism America is trying to export worldwide as The Way. Any economist will tell you that countries and companies are looking to maintain year-on-year growth. Yet any fool can tell you that infinite growth on a finite planet is a physical impossibility.

It looks likely that the Chinese will be the ones to teach us that, sooner than most people think.

Thanks for reading.

D

posted by DamonLeigh on August 3, 2004 at 4:25 AM | link to this | reply

Very interesting stuff...so what do you think should be done about these

problems?

posted by Dylan24 on August 2, 2004 at 3:38 AM | link to this | reply