strawdog65

Torus693 Thanks for the reminder... You are correct in that the technology is there to collect the water. You are I guess quoting actual numbers of rainfall for the U.S., so I guess those numbers are accurate as well. No argument about rainfall not being collected efficiently. The problem is no one will implement the technology to eradicate the clean water shortages unless there is a profit to be made in doing so. In places like Africa... there is no imperative to do anything. Without profit to be made, the water remains polluted and in short supply. I agree that the world should implement technology to harvest the resource of rainwater more efficiently, the hydrocycle still requires there to be much more water going to the ground to help replenish the dwindling supply beneath our feet. The groundwater is just as important as any other source. peace

Clean, drinkable water is now a owned commodity. Privatized and being squandered for profit! The Hydrocycle has been interrupted in a way that is creating a 15 to 1 (against) ratio of aquifer depletion. There is no foreseeable way to replenish the aquifers when we are increasing our water usage beyond the means to refill them, very simple hard facts. There is a water shortage in many parts of the world, we just happen to live in a place where this is not visible because of the wealth of where we live. Anyone who thinks that there is no water shortage is misinformed. As with oil, water will be the next thing to have wars over. People, please pull your heads out of your asses and see the reality. It is the attitude that nothing is wrong that will be the end of our species. The ship is sinking and our ignorance is drowning us.

Thanks Kate! Cool site! The history of the world and man is probably far stranger then we could ever imagine.

This is a good one about Yonaguni, island off of Japan. http://www.pureinsight.org/node/1678

Are we moving toward some incredible leap in a change of the very consciousness of our planet? With the advent of the internet, and the free access of much more information then ever before possible in the history of mankind by the average person who has a computer or computer access, is there something imminent in our short range future? The present system of government and monetary systems, will at some point reach a point beyond which any stabilizing factor will be able to "correct" the inherent imbalances upon which our present systems are based. Failure is just a matter of time. There is no thing that can ever have infinite growth, Including our economy and the plundering of resources which are by their very nature limited. Human behavior.... is it genetic? Or is it purely a product of our influences and our surroundings? If our very nature is to be influenced by our surroundings, then by all means, lets change our surroundings and change our behavior as well. As a people we have so much growing to do for our civilization to be considered something that is inclusive and accepting of all peoples as valuable and meaningful. The Zeitgeist film, Moving Forward, presents ideas that help to illustrate the box we live in, and that there is another way to see, live and participate within society. Peace!

Is this most recent uproar in people reclaiming their say in their own governing (Egypt) a sign of times to come? Can a future earth society really have a chance at being a one world society when we as a people are so utterly divided by our limitations to understand and our ignorance to seek change? We live on one Planet. We are all Humans. We are all of equal value as living beings. To me, any consideration of a future Earth society, must include the mindset that we are all connected and important. It is the ideology that some are better than others that keep us at each others throats and limit what we could become. The future is at best uncertain, but isn't taking a chance on a new paradigm better than the status quo? Peace.

Getting back on track to the original post..... http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v17/i2/civilizations.asp I would be interested in what all of you Tao Bums have learned in your years of living about prehistoric civilizations and how this modern world we live in has been shaped by the far past? Many technologies we have today may have existed in some form millennia ago. Is it our pride that blinds us from believing the possibilities of advanced prehistoric civilizations? I think so... we believe mistakenly because of the technology we have surrounding us, that we are the pinnacle of an advanced civilization and that there has never been anything like us before. Hard to believe the vanity in such a mindset.

This is in essence how I feel. Why are people so fast asleep? Why is it so terrifying to look at the reality of the world situation? Most people are asleep. The unfortunate truth is anything that is an inconvenience to the established norm of any ones life is to be regarded as being a made up "fiction". The seriousness of what "peak oil" means I believe precludes giving in to fear, we collectively must push for alternative means of clean energy sources. Many people will continue to push the scam aspect of what they see as a purely contrived situation, it is their right to believe what they will, but it is also our right to as being aware of the situation, to attempt to wake the masses from their imposed slumber and seek change. Peace

Hello everyone! All great and interesting responses! so just like anything else there are still those that believe that the peak oil theory/prediction is nothing more than a scam for world domination. Hard to argue with that idea.

The newest Zeitgeist movie has reached over 2 million views on youtube. There is a tremendous amount of interest. The movement is growing.

Loud, heavy snoring... Dreams of a jar of Hunny, Pooh sleeps fitfully.

Nature waits it's turn, Plowed under, who will be next? Cockroaches.... hopeful.

My carriage awaits, A large pumpkin, on wheels. A crystal slipper.

All things have an end, Rolling mist evaporates, Warm sun on tan skin.

Why am I afraid? Maybe it's the one eyed 'Tards? Liver for breakfast?

from: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/viewpoints/articles/0406vip-mcpherson0406.html End of the world as we know it You might feel fine, but high oil cost, scarcity mean American Empire is about to come crashing down. Guy R. McPherson University of Arizona professor Apr. 6, 2008 12:00 AM Peak oil spells the end of civilization. And, if it's not already too late, perhaps it will prevent the extinction of our species. M. King Hubbert, a petroleum geologist employed by Shell Oil Co., described peak oil in 1956. Production of crude oil, like the production of many non-renewable resources, follows a bell-shaped curve. The top of the curve is termed "peak oil," or "Hubbert's peak," and it represents the halfway point for production. The bell-shaped curve applies at all levels, from field to country to planet. After discovery, production ramps up relatively quickly. But when the light, sweet crude on top of the field runs out, increased energy and expense are required to extract the underlying heavy, sour crude. At some point, the energy required to extract a barrel of oil exceeds the energy contained in barrel of oil, so the pumps shut down. advertisement Most of the world's oil pumps are about to shut down. We have sufficient supply to keep the world running for 30 years or so, at the current level of demand. But that's irrelevant because the days of inexpensive oil are behind us. And the American Empire absolutely demands cheap oil. Never mind the 3,000-mile Caesar salad to which we've become accustomed. Cheap oil forms the basis for the 12,000-mile supply chain underlying the "just-in-time" delivery of plastic toys from China. There goes next year's iPod. In 1956, Hubbert predicted the continental United States would peak in 1970. He was correct, and the 1970s gave us a small, temporary taste of the sociopolitical and economic consequences of expensive oil. We passed the world oil peak in 2005, and we've been easing down the other side by acquiring oil at the point of a gun - actually, guns are the smallest of the many weapons we're using - paying more for oil and destroying one culture after another as the high price of crude oil forces supply disruptions and power outages in Third World countries. The world peaked at 74.3 million barrels per day in May 2005. The two-year decline to 73.2 million barrels per day produced a doubling of the price of crude. Later this year, we fall off the oil-supply cliff, with global supply plummeting below 70 million barrels/day. Oil at merely $100 per barrel will seem like the good old days. Within a decade, we'll be staring down the barrel of a crisis: Oil at $400 per barrel brings down the American Empire, the project of globalization and water coming through the taps. Never mind happy motoring through the never-ending suburbs in the Valley of the Sun. In a decade, unemployment will be approaching 100 percent, inflation will be running at 1,000 percent and central heating will be a pipe dream. In short, this country will be well on its way to the post-industrial Stone Age. After all, no alternative energy sources scale up to the level of a few million people, much less the 6.5 billion who currently occupy Earth. Oil is necessary to extract and deliver coal and natural gas. Oil is needed to produce solar panels and wind turbines, and to maintain the electrical grid. Ninety percent of the oil consumed in this country is burned by airplanes, ships, trains and automobiles. You can kiss goodbye groceries at the local big-box grocery store: Our entire system of food production and delivery depends on cheap oil. If you're alive in a decade, it will be because you've figured out how to forage locally. The death and suffering will be unimaginable. We have come to depend on cheap oil for the delivery of food, water, shelter and medicine. Most of us are incapable of supplying these four key elements of personal survival, so trouble lies ahead when we are forced to develop means of acquiring them that don't involve a quick trip to Wal-Mart. On the other hand, the forthcoming cessation of economic growth is truly good news for the world's species and cultures. In addition, the abrupt halt of fossil-fuel consumption may slow the warming of our planetary home, thereby preventing our extinction at our own hand. Our individual survival, and our common future, depends on our ability to quickly make other arrangements. We can view this as a personal challenge, or we can take the Hemingway out. The choice is ours. For individuals interested in making other arrangements, it's time to start acquiring myriad requisite skills. It is far too late to save civilization for 300 million Americans, much less the rest of the planet's citizens, but we can take joy in a purpose-filled, intimate life. It's time to push away from the shore, to let the winds of change catch the sails of our leaky boat. It's time to trust in ourselves, our neighbors and the Earth that sustains us all. Painful though it might be, it's time to abandon the cruise ship of empire in exchange for a lifeboat. Guy R. McPherson is a professor of conservation biology at the University of Arizona.

A movie called "collapse" is a must see. It is an interview with Michael Ruppert, speaking candidly about the world and peak oil. http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/50078/Collapse__part_1_/ Thanks to "TheSongsofDistantEarth" for posting about this film. It is an unflinching wake up call....Are you listening?

good luck with the attitude.

Soon I will be free, Elemental as the wind, Carried everywhere.

Commentary about anything is from a personal perspective. This thread is about what the coming future earth society may be... what are your thoughts on that? Examples that have been cited with lots of accompanying information have been about the Venus project and some of the ideas being presented in the Zeitgeist movies, as well as the idea of a Resource based economic model.

The new Zeitgeist movie is out! Please take a look. The first part discusses the nature of humans and how the environment influences how we become who we eventually become as people. The second part is about what a future earth society might be like and goes into some depth about how such a society and city may be when built to support the humans inhabiting it. There is of course the discussion of money and how we would need to change to get to that point. Well thought out presentation. I do believe that by the end of the movie we are being shown that a revolution is what will be necessary to achieve the goal of changing our world and society for the better. What's eerie is how this movies ideas coincide in timing with the many protests for change we are seeing throughout the world right now. Peace!

A sad actress, m'am. Said the dust covered cowboy, Jumping from his horse.

Young Mind In our western society we are taught, at all costs, to hold on to youth. we are inundated by advertising constantly reminding us of the importance of being young. It's no wonder that as we age, we look for meaning when, before as youngsters we were to busy to care. From the Taoist perspective, this is an interesting concept to me. Being young is more than a physical determination. One can be young in the sense that they have cultivated the openess of a young mind. Even as the body begins to fade the prospect of a youthful mind is a comfort. We all have it, even it it exists buried beneath the mess that is life, it's there somewhere... just look for it. What is a youthful mind? To me it is a mind full of awe. The awe of new eyes upon a world that is fresh and uncorrupted. It can be said that unfiltered optimism, is a type of awe. Like the awe of a day when the sky is bright blue, and the clouds are reminiscent of types of animals, like a great zoo in the sky. Or the awe of finding the Love of your life, and looking into their eyes and for the first time feeling you have arrived home at last. Awe is to me inspiring, magickal, majestic, humbling and hopeful. It is sad that, as we are brought up in society, much of the awe of our youth is lost to the hurt of lessons learned. Disillusionment of what we desired as the youth we were, in conflict with the reality our lives become, is common to us all. Does this mean that the spark of youth is lost? As we age, how is it we can preserve this "young Mind"? I can usually tell when I am in my "young mind" mode, it happens when I am interested in something or talking about something of great interest, and I catch myself being negative about what I was thinking about moments earlier as being great. It is the voice of "experience" (age) saying "wake up you fool, it will never work!" Should I blindly listen to this voice? Or should I temper this voice with the knowledge that sometimes the voice of our present "reality" is a limiting factor of our future? Limiting our actions based on past fears, is the outcome of any decisions made when this mind occurs. I believe it is an incredible resource within ourselves to tap into the optimism and uncorrupted nature of our youth, and bring some of that "mind" into our everyday lives. It is this mind that makes it ok to be silly and say yes to something new, something the voice of age and reason would say no to. So, get in touch with that young mind, let that silly nature return, look at that giraffe in the sky and say giddy up! It can certainly do us no harm. Peace and silliness!

Such a grumpy fart, Seven Dwarves to listen to, Happy, where are you?