EDIT:
Hi, Bradca:
I can sympathize with your sentiment, I really can. But I thought that the original poster, as coarse and unrefined as he/she may have been, did make some valid points.
So, please undestand that the following is just my opinion, unfortunately somewhat in support of what the original pster has said. We must remember that some of our brothers and sisters may not be as well-spoken as others, and in fact may be a bit crass in their ways.
Of course, we should not panic. We will need to keep our heads level on this, or we won't be of any use to anybody. And of course, I think this is far too important of an issue for us to discount it just because an abrasive individual may have come here with potentially firebrand or panic-causing words.
And I wouldn't be suspicious of edits and re-edits. I often have to re-edit my own posts several times to correct my spelling mistakes, and embarrassing foot-in-mouth grammar and the occasional whopper "oh my God, was I having an idiot moment?" realizations.
His/her intent was no doubt to raise awareness of this issue. After all, he didn't tell us what to think; he simply pointed us to a wealth of information. Some of it will be good, some of it will not be so good.
But he pointed us toward it. As they say on Fox News, "we report, you decide."
/END EDIT
kenlacy said:
Ken, it's good to have faith in human nature and ingenuity. I commend and encourage this. Without hope and faith, our goose is already cooked. And yes, I mean faith in ourselves,
and faith in God. Because we're gonna need all the help we can get, ladies and gentlemen!
I sure would feel better if we weren't all glued to "American Idol" or "Fear Factor." I would feel better if Jay Leno weren't able to find so many uninformed, stupid people for his "Jay-Walking" segments. I would feel a hell of a lot better if today's musicians didn't spell "boy" as "boi".
The entire human race is losing valuable time by not educating itself as much as possible and by not working on this problem en masse.
Ken, by saying "if" as I have highlighted in the quote above, it shows you may be in denial yourself, or that you simply may not have realized the physics of it all. The earth's supplies (of anything and everything) may indeed be vast, but they are physically limited.
As I posted in a different thread, we are almost definitely using oil faster than Mother Earth can make it. Assuming that Mother Earth still can. A, B, C, 1, 2, 3...even a little kid knows when you take something away faster than it is replenished, eventually, it's all gone.
So I urge you to consider changing your thinking from "if" to "when", because as I have said, and as the original poster of this thread says, we
will eventually run out. It may be in our lifetimes, or our children's lifetimes, or our grandchildren's lifetimes. And I fear that if all we've taught them is how to play X-Box games, watch un-reality shows, snowboard, and eat junk food, then we are making a major misstep in our responsibilities to the next generation.
I fear that we will leave them in deep trouble, with little or no ability to make and transport food or medicine to the people who need it. It's possible that even making medical and food-related plastics and basic sanitary products will be extremely difficult and maybe even prohibitively expensive.
We have watered down our education system and our justice system. Crimes of theft, violence against critical members of society (the people who will teach, feed, and doctor the population), and destruction of infrastructure aren't seen as crimes any longer. People get off so easily and go out and repeat their destruction and mayhem.
We have weakened the religious institutions that people used to turn to in times of need and trouble. We have even de-valued God and human life itself. I'm convinced that we will need all of these things again one day. They are the binds that tie and link us to each other, to the planet, and even to God.
Consider this:
Education will give us survival skills
Religion will help us with our life-purposes and will make it possible to weather onward when times get especially difficult.
Justice will enforce order and thereby enable it all to happen.
Take away or weaken any of these, and our hopes will dim drastically.
As I have said in the other thread, this is a very very HEAVY subject. If you decide to take nvdrifter's advice and start researching this subject via his/her links, I highly recommend that you take it carefully.
Go easy on yourself. Be realistic, and don't give yourself heart problems or anxiety attacks. I will admit that I had insomnia for more than two days when I first learned about "peak oil."
I want you all to know that I have already been through all of the feelings and all of the fear you will realize if you should decide to proceed. Whatever you do, please don't feel all alone in this. I assure you, you're not.