I should have known that The Simpsons was too funny to be true...and all the years I've been seeking opportunity in my personal crises... Anyhow, it was Lisa, not Barney who made the statement. Nevertheless, if we can no longer trust the statements of cartoon characters, who can we trust?
Patrick -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jin Yao Sent: Monday, April 02, 2007 3:13 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Crisitunity Crisis and opportunity are not the same words in Chinese. crisis: ?? (Pronunciation in English letters: Wei Ji) opportunity: ?? (pronunciation in English letters: Ji Hui) Yes, there is one word same (Ji) in the two two-word phrases. But this does not mean anything. For example, "nation" and "determination" both have "nation" in the words, do they mean the same? Jin Yao On Apr 2, 2007, at 2:31 PM, patrick wrote: > In China, the word for "crisis" is the same as the word for > "opportunity". > > -Barney, a la The Simpsons. > > > Patrick > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of stan moore > Sent: Monday, April 02, 2007 12:23 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: regarding my recent postings on crises ahead > > Folks -- > > Just to avoid a bit of possible confusioin, I would like to point > out that > among my own postings in the last couple of weeks are references to > multiple > > problems, all of which seem to be coming at us simultaneously, some > of which > > interact and synergize with one another and some of which have had > proposed > solutions that create yet new crises. > > Global climate change is absolutely a crisis facing humanity, but > in and of > itself is the least mentioned crisis by me, because I believe this > group > well understands the nature of the crisis. I have not mentioned > global > climate change in the context of discussions of alteration of our > civilization. What I have discussed to some extent are how some of > the > proposed solutions for global climate change, designed to reduce > carbon > emissions into the atmosphere, such as biofuels, pose their own > threat to > the local ecologies as well as to the survival of subsistence > farmers in the > > poorer nations of the world. > > But biofuels are also a proposed solution to yet a different > problem, which > I can call the Peak Oil crisis. This is THE huge crisis I have > focused on > with regards to the survival of our civilization as we have known > it. Peak > Oil means the depletion of 1/2 of all known petroleum deposits ever > produced > > by planet Earth, with severe implications as to the ability of > nations to > run their economies, to feed the masses, to transport people and goods > around the planet as well as locally, and so forth. A good > reference to > explain why Peak Oil is such a big deal is "The Party's Over: Oil, > War, and > > the Fate of Industrial Society" by Richard Heinberg. > > Biofuels, in addiition to theoretically reducing global climate > change by > decreasing carbon emissions, are also alternative fuels to > petroleum and are > > allegedly sustainable forms of energy. A new report from Asia this > week > pointed out that palm oil, formerly considered a sustainable, non- > polluting > form of energy, is not carbon-neutral, in part because a > significant amount > of area planted to palm trees to produce the oil are in peat bogs, > whose > alteration will release far more carbon into the atmosphere than > saved by > the burning of palm oil This realization is causing nations and > big > industries to rethink their plans to continue to dramatically > expand palm > oil production in order to produce sustainable, renewable, "low > impact" > energy. > > Kunstler wrote about peak oil as a mechanism that will drive enormous, > perhaps catastrophic changes to our society. Michael Klare wrote > about > resource wars, primarily based on the competition for petroleum by > world > powers moving forward. Kunstler may or may not be aligned with Lyndon > Larouche -- I don't know and I am not a Larouche supporter in any > way. But > Kunstler's vision of how the U.S. will be forced to change due to > Peak Oil > is consistent with the analyses of other informed persons, including > Heinberg and others. It is positively mild by comparison with the > vision of > > Jay Hanson, who sees no way to avoid nuclear war in years ahead. > > Richard Clark Duncan's Olduvai Gorge Theory is not precisely about > Peak Oil, > > though Peak Oil is integral to the fact that the length of the > tenure of > industrial society can be predicted empirically. But Duncan's > analysis uses > > data that by far predate the burning of oil and it is only because > oil has > been such a phenomenon driver of the industrial development of man > that Peak > > Oil is related to the conclusions of his book in Duncan's final > analysis. > If nuclear power had proved to be a replacement for petroleum on the > worldwide scale that petroleum has occupied as an energy source, then > Duncan's conclusions would have been different. In fact, as > Heinberg > explained very well, it is the fact that petroleum is unique in > being such a > > versatile and universal energy source that makes the depletion of > petroleum > such an enormous problem for our species, whose meteoric rise in > numbers and > > influence on the planet has been tied to the advent of the > petroleum era in > world history. > > There are other crises that we face as well. Consumption (which is > obviously related to energy) is an ecological problem because we > consume > earth resources faster than the earth produces them. We are > living off of > the capital and not the interest of earth's natural productivity. > However, > because of the relationship between oil as energy source and > consumption, I > have little hesitation in saying that ultimately the crisis of Peak > Oil will > > diminish the crisis of consumption. Our changed habits and > lifestyle due to > > Peak Oil will leave us no ability to consume in the future as we > have in the > > past. > > But there will be synergies among the crises. Global climate > change will > exacerbate consumption problems in terms of water supply, for > instance. > Melting glaciers and reduced snowpack in some areas will make it > hard for > existing regional populations of humans to exist, much less flourish. > > Climate change may produce violent storms and other destructive > natural > phenomena and the effect of Peak Oil on national economies may make > it very > difficult to recover and rebuild our infrastructure. What if sea > levels do > rise and low-lying, but densely populated areas are washed out? > New Orleans > > may be a harbinger of what will happen to many other areas > nationally and > globally, not only in human suffering, but in the failure to bring > adequate > resources to bear to protect, rescue, and repair the damage. > > All of these crises have been known to experts for years, if not > decades. > We have not been prudent. We lost our memory of the contrived oil > shortages > > of the 1970's, which should have led to intense preparation for the > end of > the Age of Oil. We started out well, but we petered out when North > Sea oil > and Alaskan oil came on line. I believe we will pay a steep price for > allowing ourselves to forget the lessons of the Arab Oil Embargo. > Some day > a future generation will hear about Hummers and other SUVs and > wonder "What > were they thinking!" > > And here we are. I think that it is unquestionable that we are fast > approaching a period of drastic, involuntary change in human > history. Why > hasn't the U.S. government gone to the people and informed them of the > difficulties and difficult choices in the near future? I think > they decided > > they did not want to panic the stock market. But panic will be > hard to > prevent when the realization of what lies ahead hits the masses. > Perhaps > that is why a police state has been in preparation here in the U.S. > for > several years. I suspect that in a few years, "terrorists" will > include > dissidents who vigorously complain about the inequitable > distribution of > wealth and resources in the nation and world lying ahead. > > Stan Moore San Geronimo, CA [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > _________________________________________________________________ > Interest Rates near 39yr lows! $430,000 Mortgage for $1,399/mo - > Calculate > new payment > http://www.lowermybills.com/lre/index.jsp? > sourceid=lmb-9632-18466&moid=7581 ------------------- Jin Yao Assistant Professor of Biology Department of Biology and Earth Sciences Adams State College 208 Edgemont Blvd. Alamosa, CO 81102 Tel: (719)587-8112
