Category Archives: Society

Energy and resources limits what humans can do. So do their own systems. Financial systems fail, corruption, wars, religion, politics and more all play a role in how successful societies are and how wealthy their citizens are. As the distribution of wealth grows more unfair, the population is so immiserated at some point that collapse and a new society emerge

Richard Heinberg: Systemic change driven by moral awakening is our only hope

[ Although this was written over a year ago on August 14, 2017 by Richard Heinberg on Ecowatch, it’s as true today as it was then, and worth republishing since people forget what they’ve read in the past Alice Friedemann   … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Critical Thinking, Overpopulation, Overshoot, Population, Richard Heinberg | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Nobel prize economist Robert Shiller: market risk keeps him awake worrying

[ According to this article: “Shiller’s latest analysis shouldn’t be taken lightly. His forecasting skills were recognized in 2013 when he won the Nobel Prize in Economics. He’s known for predicting both the dot-com bubble and the housing bubble in … Continue reading

Posted in Crash Coming Soon | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

One of the biggest risks to the world’s financial system is the $3 trillion of debt owed by oil and gas firms

[ Yet another “crash coming soon” post, if it hasn’t happened already (I scheduled this article and others to appear a year or more later, since crashes always take longer to happen than you expect. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of … Continue reading

Posted in Bond Market, Crash Coming Soon, Debt, Oil & Gas Fracked | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Steve St. Angelo: Prepare for asset price declines of 50 to 75%

Steve St. Angelo. July 4, 2017. Prepare for asset price declines of 50 to 75%. SRSRocco report. What we have is a totally propped-up market based upon debt. Energy isn’t producing positive growth. So instead of having real economic growth, … Continue reading

Posted in Crash Coming Soon | Tagged , | 1 Comment

America’s energy security, jobs & climate challenges

Preface. In this 2010 House of Representatives hearing, General Wesley Clark foresaw in 1973 “that US military forces might have to become engaged to defend or protect oil-producer governments”.  Today “we can look back on the continuing failures of American … Continue reading

Posted in Caused by Scarce Resources, Climate Change, Congressional Record U.S., Military | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

From wood to fossil fueled civilizations — the greatest tragedy mankind will ever know

Preface. These are my notes from this book about how we went from an organic sustainable economy to a temporary fossil-fueled one.  It’s one of the few books I’ve found that explains what life was like before fossil fuels in … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Life Before Oil, Supply Chains | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Why facts don’t change our mind

Preface. Below are excerpts from this article.  Longish descriptions of various studies at Stanford and elsewhere lead to conclusions such as that once formed, impressions are remarkably perserverant, and even after the evidence for their beliefs has been totally refuted, … Continue reading

Posted in Critical Thinking | Tagged | Comments Off on Why facts don’t change our mind

Richard Heinberg on why low oil prices do not mean there is plenty of oil, EROI, collapse

[ Yet another wise, thoughtful, and wide-ranging essay from my favorite writer of the many facets of a civilization about to decline as it is starved of the fossil fuels that feed it.  Although the topics are quite varied, Heinberg … Continue reading

Posted in Oil, Peter Turchin, Richard Heinberg, Social Disorder | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Richard Heinberg on why low oil prices do not mean there is plenty of oil, EROI, collapse

Preventing economic shock wave: Securing the port of Houston from a terrorist attack

                    [ An attack on (LNG) ships, oil tankers, or the Houston port facilities Houston would cause an oil shock, since a third of oil refining takes place there, and it’s … Continue reading

Posted in Disasters, Oil & Gas, Terrorism | Tagged , | Comments Off on Preventing economic shock wave: Securing the port of Houston from a terrorist attack

Wells Fargo created bogus bank accounts and credit cards without customer knowledge, billed them millions

[ I know this is “old news” from 2016, but the drawback of newspapers is that stories aren’t repeated.  What an insane level of corruption we’ve reached! Just look at the financial book list I haven’t yet posted at the … Continue reading

Posted in Banking | Comments Off on Wells Fargo created bogus bank accounts and credit cards without customer knowledge, billed them millions