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

Over 10 million people evicted from 4.4 million homes since 2007

The statistics on this vary. Given that the “fix” to the September 2008 crisis was merely kicking the can down the road, with no meaningful reform having taken place, and banks in even worse shape than before by “recovering” by … Continue reading

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Trillion of dollars of debt and unfunded liabilities

Unfunded liabilities Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff has calculated that the U.S. government is facing unfunded liabilities of 222 trillion dollars in the years ahead. To name just a few: Medicare and Medicaid, social security, service treasury bonds, food stamps, … Continue reading

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Cities will go bankrupt

As the cost of energy keeps rising, and more and more “money” goes to obtaining energy, which leaves less for everything else.  And since capitalism depends on growth, but we’re on the cusp of shrinking back to the stone age, … Continue reading

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China is working on cyber attacks of our infrastructure and stealing secrets

Stone, R. March 1, 2013.  A Call to Cyber Arms. Science, Vol. 339 no. 6123 pp. 1026-1027 China’s extensive cyber research activities and allegations over cyber espionage have put the United States on high alert. The U.S. government is ramping … Continue reading

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Oil and Gas infrastructure are falling apart

Beneath Cities, a Decaying Tangle of Gas Pipes March 23, 2014. Patrick McGeehan et al. New York Times It is a danger hidden beneath the streets of New York City, unseen and rarely noticed: 6,302 miles of pipes transporting natural … Continue reading

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The scientific consensus: we are screwed if we don’t act soon

May 21, 2013. Scientific consensus on maintaining Humanity’s life support systems in the 21st century.  Essential points for policy makers. Stanford University. Earth is rapidly approaching a tipping point. Human impacts are causing alarming levels of harm to our planet. … Continue reading

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Financial Monsters — Bigger Crashes than 2008 are yet to come

by Alice Friedemann   October 12, 2007 The monsters are still there. Sure, quantitative easing fed them enough money to keep them away for a while, but cheap money can’t be doled out to bankrupt banksters and Wall Street forever.  Meanwhile … Continue reading

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Poverty is Increasing

4 Apr 2013. 21 Statistics About The Explosive Growth Of Poverty In America That Everyone Should Know. TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com A few of the 21 stats: An all-time record 47.79 million Americans are now on food stamps. Back in the 1970s, about one … Continue reading

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Why is modern concrete falling apart?

Here’s more information from Courland’s book “Concrete Planet” and other information I found on the web since I wrote Enough energy after Peak Oil to rebuild and repair concrete infrastructure? Lawrence Berkeley National laboratory has been trying to figure out … Continue reading

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How long will concrete last if it isn’t maintained?

As energy grows scarcer and is devoted to growing food and other life-support services, our infrastructure will crumble. Bob Holmes. 12 Oct 2006. Imagine Earth without people. NewScientist.com Lack of maintenance will spell an early demise for buildings, roads, bridges … Continue reading

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