Human Civilisation: The Future
Lofung
Join Date: 2004-08-21 Member: 30757Members
Join Date: 2004-08-21 Member: 30757Members
in Discussions
<div class="IPBDescription">energy, climate and resources.</div><!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->the human civilization we know today is coming to an end soon?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
i wondered.
last year in summer i read a post right here about the oil peak. <a href="http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/" target="_blank">http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/</a> . people have been saying that the oil price boom was due to the investment activities. but one year later, it seems that we can find no tendency the oil price falling but keeping it self above or near to the boundary $60/barrel. china and India will still have their economy booming in the coming decade. and we can see that our pace to look for new energy sources is still slow. the fusion power is still in the stage of experiment, wind and solar power is still not very popular, and we can still see coal and oil powered engines and plants all round the world. some countries in the third world, though in small number, has past the peak and surely their society went backwards. with the global oil peak round the corner, it seems that the globe will soon face an recession.
the climate has been changing in a way which is more horrible than we predict. the big, single iceberg in north pole has broken into 2 big pieces. some prediction says that we gonna Super El Nino next year. small icebergs have been found south of New Zealand affecting courses. add to this a bizarre warm fall in europe has made the sales of winter clothes drop. An Inconvenient Truth tried to wake governments up but we still cannot see any significant movement done. US still keep the Kyoto Protocol out of the doors. Despite China and India has been taking measures to make the production carbon dioxide level off. we can still see a lot of cities with their skies covered with smog and the sales of vehicles has been still going strongly.
Tropical Rain Forest in Indonesia will soon disappear. raw metals will soon not be found in the nature. it seems that the lifestyles we are having today are very likely to be changed in the future. what would happen to the human civilisation? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/confused-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="???" border="0" alt="confused-fix.gif" />
i wondered.
last year in summer i read a post right here about the oil peak. <a href="http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/" target="_blank">http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/</a> . people have been saying that the oil price boom was due to the investment activities. but one year later, it seems that we can find no tendency the oil price falling but keeping it self above or near to the boundary $60/barrel. china and India will still have their economy booming in the coming decade. and we can see that our pace to look for new energy sources is still slow. the fusion power is still in the stage of experiment, wind and solar power is still not very popular, and we can still see coal and oil powered engines and plants all round the world. some countries in the third world, though in small number, has past the peak and surely their society went backwards. with the global oil peak round the corner, it seems that the globe will soon face an recession.
the climate has been changing in a way which is more horrible than we predict. the big, single iceberg in north pole has broken into 2 big pieces. some prediction says that we gonna Super El Nino next year. small icebergs have been found south of New Zealand affecting courses. add to this a bizarre warm fall in europe has made the sales of winter clothes drop. An Inconvenient Truth tried to wake governments up but we still cannot see any significant movement done. US still keep the Kyoto Protocol out of the doors. Despite China and India has been taking measures to make the production carbon dioxide level off. we can still see a lot of cities with their skies covered with smog and the sales of vehicles has been still going strongly.
Tropical Rain Forest in Indonesia will soon disappear. raw metals will soon not be found in the nature. it seems that the lifestyles we are having today are very likely to be changed in the future. what would happen to the human civilisation? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/confused-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="???" border="0" alt="confused-fix.gif" />
Comments
<!--quoteo(post=1574043:date=Nov 6 2006, 08:49 PM:name=Crisqo)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Crisqo @ Nov 6 2006, 08:49 PM) [snapback]1574043[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Rest assured, as soon as oil stops being profitable (i.e there isn't enough anymore) someone will move in and replace it with something so they can make money off of it. Don't worry about it.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's not that easy...
Oil is used for producing plastic, chemicals and other things and can't be replaced from one day to the other.
And even if it was just the fuel thing, theres no real alternative for large-scale use at the moment.
I'm afraid there'll be a technology crisis in 30 - 50 years.
P.S.
I watched something on tv where they converted bio mass to oil in a few hours (a handfull leaves to a cup of oil). Maybe thats the future. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink-fix.gif" />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_energy" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_energy</a>
That gives some info on all the power we can tap on.
As for the global climate, I agree it's getting shot to hell. Pollution is a big problem but its effects will only be felt in the future. Economic growth first and formost and to hell with the environment is the way most govts think cos they wont be in charge when the effects of pollution hits. let some1 else take care of their problem.
But i believe we will adapt to whatever may come. We have done so in the past and we will do so i the future. Major climate changes wont kill us, just makes it a bit more inconvenient. Higher temps and whatever will be the norm in the future and we will deal with it.
As for pollution, governments are constantly under enormous pressure from profitmongers. "Allow us to pollute more or we move production elsewhere." If there's anything to be said for the more radical branches of socialism, it's the whole "seizure of assets" thing. "You try to bail out on us, we confiscate all your means of production and just take over ourselves." It's very very un-capitalistic, but then again only capitalists have any particular reason to like capitalism.
And yes, despite what Arthur C. Clarke <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_Distant_Earth" target="_blank">would have us believe</a>, the sun is going to last for quite a while yet. Read that book, by the way.
And btw the effects of global warming are ALREADY being felt. I live in Australia, 80% of this country is already desert... so you can imagine how devestating a drought is here. well we've been having one for more than two years. Many farms have simply vanished, and agriculture is REALLY suffering. most of our dams for drinking water are WELL below 50%, the one supplying Sydney is below 40%.
But unusual climate is an international phenomenon. ice that was thousands of years old melting in greenland and an unprecedented amount of cyclones and hurricanes. This should be a wake up call.. its not too late! But instead greedy and ignorant leaders and businessmen bury thier heads in the sand.
But eh, if Australia was worried, they wouldn't have refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.