How capitalism handles #degrowth

On paper, capitalism can exist without growth. In reality, not. Why. Because capitalism is unfair, and only fends off socialism by holding out hope of progress through growth, convincing just enough people that they are better off trying to get rich than trying to change the system. Before fossil fuels, capitalism did exist, but you can hardly compare it with today's system. The change back will be sharp in contrast to expectations.

Degrowth is here. So what is being done. As you might have expected, the same as before, but more of it. Intense competition, war, currency manipulation, election fraud, mass unemployment, and heavily armed riot police preparing their skills by practicing on even small, peaceful protest.

There is a lot we can do. Start changing your town to survive without oil. Cut back on meat. Grow food locally. Ask yourself, what would life be like without internet or electricity. Get independent from the private auto. Many of these things are compatible with goals of people who still believe growth is possible, and they will join with you.

Per capita oil production peaked in 1979, and will drop 50% from 2012 to 2050

@nelderini SmartPlanet: "Oil production per capita peaked in 1979 at 5.5 barrels of oil per person per year, Laherrère calculates. That rate that can never be matched again, he says, because population continues to grow even as global oil production has hit a plateau, soon to be followed by an inevitable decline. By 2050, Laherrère calculates that the global per-capita oil consumption will have to fall to around half the 2012 level."

Direct #autosprawl #subsidy calculated at $7,000/yr per car

Strong Towns: "Per car, that amount is something to the tune of $7,000 per year. By that measure, the annual cost of every household in the U.S. owning just one car (less than half the actual vehicle ownership rate) comes to more than $800 billion—almost double the amount we spend trying to get people to invest their housing money more wisely. Spending on roads also has at least one other negative impact on housing policy: homes within 1,000 feet of a freeway are 59% more likely to default on their mortgage."

A visit to “Summer School – The Capital of Free Public Transport” in Tallinn

Free public transport: "Before Tallinn removed the fares, the share of public transport commuters had slowly but steadily shrunken. And even though they had spent a lot of money on new buses and trams that trend did not change, but this year 21 percent more of the Tallinners have used the public transport, out of which eight percent had never used it before. 68 percent of the citizens use public transport as their main way of getting around, a number that has grown by 13 percent while the share of people who mainly drive cars to get around have shrinked with nine percent."

Humans using up biosphere, cannot last past end of century

Humanity's life support - Sustainable Food Trust - Sustainable Food Trust: "Recognising that ‘Earth is rapidly approaching a tipping point,’ and ‘human impacts are causing an alarming level of harm to our planet,’ it warns that we must begin to address these harms if we hope to continue living on this earth past the end of this century."

#Stopwatchingtv, the war in #Syria is over control of oil supply

Resource Insights: What Syria tells us about world oil supplies: "There are three reasons for this: First, right now the United States imports just under half its oil needs. We produce a little over 7 million bpd and consume about 14 million bpd. Second, no realistic nonindustry assessment of future U.S. oil production suggests we'll stop needing substantial imports. Third, oil is traded in a world market, and its price is determined by world supply and demand. Any disruption in Middle Eastern oil supplies would lead to much higher prices which would ripple through the U.S. economy no matter how much we produce domestically.

The worldwide concern over Syria tells us that oil supplies remain tight and consuming nations remain very concerned about disruptions to supply. The oil price continues to hover near all-time highs when compared to the average daily price in 2011 and 2012, both record years. As the United States prepares plans for intervening militarily, there is not only much at stake in human terms, but also most assuredly in terms of critical oil supplies."

Three minute video that clearly explains #peakoil

Climate delayers are costing us big bucks - drought bill comes in. #agw

U.S. government paid $17 billion for weather-withered crops last year | Grist: "The federal government forked out a record-breaking $17.3 billion last year to compensate farmers for weather-related crop losses — more than four times the annual average over the last decade.

The losses were mostly caused by droughts, high temperatures, and hot winds — the sizzling harbingers of a climate in rapid flux."

'via Blog this'

Why not stop fighting over energy, and just stop wasting it? Capitalism, that's why.

Net energy

Living things need energy to survive. Humans follow the path of higher net energy. With fossil fuels, we have gained so much net energy that we have created a system in which we spend 10 units of energy to produce 1 unit of food energy, exactly backwards. This cannot go on.

Capitalism and waste

Why not use high net energy sources carefully and make them last longer. This is not possible in a competitive economy. The same short-term profit is gained whether the energy is used wisely or wasted. Since wasting is quicker and easier, it has come to dominate.

World market control

High net energy fuels are in a world market. There is a large concentration in the Middle East/Caspian region. A competitive economy leads to competition between regions. If China and Russia combine to control this region they can cause economic chaos in the United States.

Oil is being rationed by price - proof of supply constraint, aka #peakoil

Our Finite World: "These [western, developed] countries also have much less growth in oil consumption than the rest of the world, indicating that when it comes to oil consumption, citizens and businesses of the US, EU and UK are being outbid by businesses and workers elsewhere.

Workers elsewhere may use less oil per person, but because they have jobs, they are able to purchase new scooters and other goods they want. Their employers also use oil to make and ship goods, keeping their demand high."