[ExI] How the world collapses

[Adrian Tymes]

On Sat, May 17, 2014 at 6:54 AM, BillK <pharos at gmail.com> wrote:

> Depressing, huh?
>

No, just more (easily seen through if you know what to look for)
disasterbationism.

For instance, note that in what you quoted, they claim that alternatives to
oil are illusions - without citing evidence.  The solar panels on my roof
don't seem very illusory.  Neither do the large wind farms in the hills not
too far from here.  Granted, oil is currently cheap enough that it's the
majority of what we use, but if it does run out, it'll be slow enough that
we'll be able to transition.  Yes, there will be some pain, mainly by those
who wait on getting their act together, but no more collapse-grade than
we've already seen.

As to economics, note that humanity has far from stopped making things
despite the presence of these "financial titans" the article bemoans.  Look
at any objective measure of worldwide (not just American in specific years
or otherwise cherry-picked) manufacturing and productivity stats over the
past few decades.  (And accept that "this region of the world isn't making
as much as it did" is increasingly irrelevant in today's global economy, no
matter what one's isolationist urges may suggest.)

And so on, and so forth.  Generally, any article that's yelling and
screaming about how the world is collapsing and there's nothing we can do
about it, isn't worth reading.  The world has problems, true - but they are
being worked on, and there is an indication that they will be fixed before
they become irreparable if enough of us help.  (Granted, that's an
approximation.  Some of us are more effective at helping with certain
problems than others.  And some of us will only "help" in ineffective token
ways.  But whatever the average aid is, each person increases the total.)
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