How can we stop the #oil and #gas wars?

Oil and natural-gas wars are consuming tremendous amounts of resources. The U.S. occupation of Iraq has been estimated at USD 1 trillion in direct costs alone.

Meanwhile people are sitting in their cars, sitting still in traffic jams, and the cheap oil is going up in smoke.

It is time for a change.

Communities should invest in public transit. To maximize return on that investment, do not have fares. The more people ride, the less money your town will be exporting for cars and fuel.

George Monbiot – No Bail-Out for the Planet

George Monbiot – No Bail-Out for the Planet: " as soon as the banks said they wanted help, they got it. On just one day the Federal Reserve made $1.2tn available – more than the world has committed to tackling climate change in 20 years."

'via Blog this'

In current system, #peakoil equals #peakfood

Soaring oil and food prices threaten affordable food supply: "The current global food system is highly fuel- and transport-dependent. Fuels will almost certainly become less affordable in the near and medium term, making the current, highly fuel-dependent agricultural production system less secure and food less affordable. It is therefore necessary to promote food self-sufficiency and reduce the need for fuel inputs to the food system at all levels."

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Why #occupywallstreet must succeed, and soon. Corporatism is destroying the biosphere.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/shock-as-retreat-of-arctic-sea-ice-releases-deadly-greenhouse-gas-6276134.html
Methane feedback-loop is accelerating

Dramatic and unprecedented plumes of methane – a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide – have been seen bubbling to the surface of the Arctic Ocean by scientists undertaking an extensive survey of the region.

The scale and volume of the methane release has astonished the head of the Russian research team who has been surveying the seabed of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf off northern Russia for nearly 20 years.

#occupy responds to evictions - shuts down ports

http://occupywallst.org/

U.S. oil dependency raising risk of world war

The U.S. is dependent on imported oil. It's best allies, the UK and the EU, also so dependent, are dependent on imported natural gas as well. In addition they are in serious financial trouble and heading into prolonged recession. The price of energy is critical.

Russia has plenty of oil and gas. Caspian gas is still up for grabs, but Russia and China have the upper hand in this region. Pakistan moves a step toward China every day. Mideast oil is still under U.S. control, but keeping it that way is getting more expensive.

As western financial collapse progresses, the U.S. is left with military power as its only tool. It has already been overused and the U.S. conventional war threat is losing credibility. That leaves the nuclear threat.

The U.S. will have to try to ally with China against Russia. Currently the war of words between the U.S. and Russia is flaring up.

There is, however, one other path that could be taken. The U.S. could make all urban public transit fare-free and start the gradual elimination of the private auto. This would save $trillions and lead the world into a new way of life.

There is no housing crisis. There are more empy houses than homeless. #occupyhomes

... there are around 3,000 empty homes in Rochester and 500–1,000 homeless people on any given night. “There’s no real housing crisis,” Acuff explained. “When you have three times more housing than homeless people, it’s not a housing crisis, it’s a political crisis. Something’s happening systemically to have all these empty houses and people sitting outside on the street...”

TheNation

Try to get one near public transit, though. More oil shock to come.

#occupyhomes - video - eviction victims fight back, get support

Where Is The 22 Trillion? | The Forest a Progressive Political Blog

Where Is The 22 Trillion? | The Forest a Progressive Political Blog: "The 22 trillion surplus revealed by Susan Swain should carry Social Security far into the future, so why are politicians so eager to place it on the chopping block? The answers to this question will have to come from Washington, but we can go back to 1983 to reveal what might be motivating the politicians to now come after the federal insurance policy that Americans have been paying into starting with their first real jobs."

'via Blog this'

Why #collapse will not stop

Bond failures and bailouts will continue because it is not how much money you have, it is how much you have relative to your competition.

Different countries have different amounts of labor, military, resource, production, and financial power.

The first four require some effort to wield. The last does not. There is no braking effect.