Sunday, June 27, 2010

The Greed Preventor

I will be back soon.  In the meantime, I wanted to share this excellent post from Jim Kunstler's blog, Clusterfuck Nation, with you.  This is not by Kunstler; rather, it's one of the many comments left as a response to the prior week's blog.  This particularly noteworthy one was by Goat1080 (I hope I have his permission).  

It's all about exploitation - exploitation of natural resources to the extreme, exploitation of slave labor, exploitation of banana republics and "cheap" labor wherever it can be found and at whatever cost.

The Deepwater Horizon was operating beyond the event horizon - the event horizon being that point in time where the oil economy gives way to the post-oil economy. The blowout preventer failed indeed and the result is not pretty. That is part of the high stakes in the post peak world and the risks and costs only go up from here.

America is experiencing its own version of Chernobyl along with the accompanying “Dead Zone” that will soon encompass the whole Gulf of Mexico and much of the Atlantic. However, the blame does not ultimately fall on the blowout preventer or even the oilrig itself or its workers - it falls on the Greed Preventer.
This country, the USA and much of the developed world - but especially the USA - is operating so far beyond its budget in every sense of the word that it is mind numbing and stir crazy beyond one's wildest imaginings. Every budget item is deep, deep in the red – finance, trade, health care, environment, energy, air, water and sanity. Speak of living beyond your means: Bridges to nowhere, corrupt banks, seas of cars and trucks – most with only the driver present, living arrangements and road networks that assure the highest possible consumption of oil and gas and natural resources in general, genetically modified plants and trees, scant passenger rail service and public transit, industrial farming and massive corporations manipulating the government for their own greedy ends. Everything going full tilt at maximum possible cost toward the approaching cliff.

It’s all about greed and having more stuff: and more stuff and more stuff and more stuff and more stuff and more stuff. The Greed Preventer has failed and the ship of "recovery" is loaded with too much stuff and she’s sinking fast.

Change is possible at any time. We could substantially lower our expectations, tighten our belts and live within our means (what a concept!) and continue as a peaceful nation for the indefinite future. Or continue on the present business as usual paradigm and go crashing over the cliff in the most spectacular nation-wreck in history. Yes, the indicators on the panel of reality are flashing red but whose paying attention? The greed preventer has blown out. Speaking of recovery – isn’t that what they do after the rescue operation has failed? That’s the recovery nobody is talking about.

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