Like the illusion of Wall Street, with its vast and powerful investment banks, now shuttered, China too is an illusion perpetuated by the Globalists that gave us the 15,000 mile Caesar salad, poisoned cat food and lead based paint on babies' pacifiers. Like the illusion that money would come from thin air to always push housing prices higher, China has spent a generation pursuing its illusion. Pursuing an unattainable dream to be like the West, while 6000 years of its carefully shepherded top soil blows into the sea.
If you go to the about the 43 minute mark and start listening, he says that if we got our act together and did not make any big stumbles, we could dig ourselves out of this hole in about 7 years - "But we better be very careful 'cause it's a pretty big hole".
I was also pleased to hear him utter the phrase "global energy summit", a recommendation that I have favored since 2005. _________________ "May you live in interesting times"
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:42 am Post subject: Re: Matt Simmons Doesn't Sound Like A Doomer
Matt Simmons is a millionaire.
Of course he's not a doomer. _________________ "By the time individuals discover that remaining resources will not be adequate for the next generation, the next generation has already been born. " David Price
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:02 am Post subject: Re: Matt Simmons Doesn't Sound Like A Doomer
he throws out some possible solutions, because presenting solutions to a problem is important.
he doesnt really believe the solution will happen because it would require people to act like they have never acted before. And even then, even if we did make fundamental changes, we "better be very careful".
What I took out of the interview was that if we continue to allow politics-as-usual to dictate our response to peak oil, we will crash in 0-3 years. If we go "all out" starting NOW to carefully and wisely make wholesale changes, we might solve our problem in 7 years.
Matt Simmons knows whats comin. He's a great leader and has done an excellent job of presenting our dilemma in positive, motivating ways for years now. _________________ "The future power is manpower"
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:57 am Post subject: Re: Matt Simmons Doesn't Sound Like A Doomer
MadScientist wrote:
he throws out some possible solutions, because presenting solutions to a problem is important.
he doesnt really believe the solution will happen because it would require people to act like they have never acted before. And even then, even if we did make fundamental changes, we "better be very careful".
What I took out of the interview was that if we continue to allow politics-as-usual to dictate our response to peak oil, we will crash in 0-3 years. If we go "all out" starting NOW to carefully and wisely make wholesale changes, we might solve our problem in 7 years.
Matt Simmons knows whats comin. He's a great leader and has done an excellent job of presenting our dilemma in positive, motivating ways for years now.
He's quite clear. He doesn't need anyone to speak for him or interpret his words.
To paraphrase: he says that the problem is as serious as a heart attack but that he believes we can overcome these challenges in about 7 years if we get our act together and don't screw it up.
Joined: Apr 05, 2005 Posts: 2608 Location: South of Atlanta
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:51 am Post subject: Re: Matt Simmons Doesn't Sound Like A Doomer
Carlhole wrote:
He's quite clear. He doesn't need anyone to speak for him or interpret his words.
To paraphrase: he says that the problem is as serious as a heart attack but that he believes we can overcome these challenges in about 7 years if we get our act together and don't screw it up.
That's not Doomer-speak.
Im not so sure Carlhole. Seems that If you listen to Matt a lot, and I try to, his overall emotion is one of frustration with BAU. I think he believes it's possible to mitigate and do something about PO, but in the long run we are going to blow it. Timing is everything and he has become more shrill as of late because he sees our time running out.
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 11:50 am Post subject: Re: Matt Simmons Doesn't Sound Like A Doomer
AirlinePilot wrote:
Carlhole wrote:
He's quite clear. He doesn't need anyone to speak for him or interpret his words.
To paraphrase: he says that the problem is as serious as a heart attack but that he believes we can overcome these challenges in about 7 years if we get our act together and don't screw it up.
That's not Doomer-speak.
Im not so sure Carlhole. Seems that If you listen to Matt a lot, and I try to, his overall emotion is one of frustration with BAU. I think he believes it's possible to mitigate and do something about PO, but in the long run we are going to blow it. Timing is everything and he has become more shrill as of late because he sees our time running out.
Thats the way I see his message lately.
You only have to listen to the interview. He says that our leaders have wasted recent years that could have been used to prepare for the impending energy crunch. But, he says, our politicians and oil people are in "denial". Simmons view is that it is getting dangerously late in the game but that it is not too late yet.
In the interview, he mentions the idea of placing huge wind turbine in the sea off Maine's coast. He talks about using wind energy to make ammonia from sea water thusly (something I have never heard about until he mentioned it). He then says something like, "Wouldn't that be something? If ammonia from seawater turned out to be our saviour?".
He advocates throwing the kitchen sink at the energy problem, mobilizing all the talent of our best and brightest. And he suggests that we need a Global Energy Summit and a full, accurate accounting of our global hydrocarbon reserves.
I have always favored a global energy summit. And have said so many times in my posts here. I have always thought that the US would create a fait accompli in Iraq and then instigate such a summit so that it could engage in bargaining with the rest of the world from a position of strength.
And it certainly looks like an Obama presidency would be prepared to organize a global energy summit.
Matt Simmons is just not talking like a Doomer. He is making suggestions toward rational solutions to our energy predicament. This is not something doomers do. If Simmons were to log on to PeakOil.com anonymously and he started posting his ideas about solutions to our crisis (ammonia from seawater using wind power), he would be thrown out on his "cornucopian" ear by the Doomer majority who claim to know better than he. _________________ "May you live in interesting times"
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:23 pm Post subject: Re: Matt Simmons Doesn't Sound Like A Doomer
Carlhole wrote:
MadScientist wrote:
he throws out some possible solutions, because presenting solutions to a problem is important.
he doesnt really believe the solution will happen because it would require people to act like they have never acted before. And even then, even if we did make fundamental changes, we "better be very careful".
What I took out of the interview was that if we continue to allow politics-as-usual to dictate our response to peak oil, we will crash in 0-3 years. If we go "all out" starting NOW to carefully and wisely make wholesale changes, we might solve our problem in 7 years.
Matt Simmons knows whats comin. He's a great leader and has done an excellent job of presenting our dilemma in positive, motivating ways for years now.
He's quite clear. He doesn't need anyone to speak for him or interpret his words.
To paraphrase: he says that the problem is as serious as a heart attack but that he believes we can overcome these challenges in about 7 years if we get our act together and don't screw it up.
That's not Doomer-speak.
How dare Simmons indulge our sense of hope. Crazy, pie in the sky, cornucopian! Just when we're nicely mentally prepared to cook the cat for dinner, while freezing to death in the dark, along comes this a**h*le, to take away all of our hopes and dreams. The creep!
Joined: Dec 18, 2004 Posts: 4994 Location: One Mile From the Columbia River
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:26 pm Post subject: Re: Matt Simmons Doesn't Sound Like A Doomer
threadbear wrote:
Carlhole wrote:
MadScientist wrote:
he throws out some possible solutions, because presenting solutions to a problem is important.
he doesnt really believe the solution will happen because it would require people to act like they have never acted before. And even then, even if we did make fundamental changes, we "better be very careful".
What I took out of the interview was that if we continue to allow politics-as-usual to dictate our response to peak oil, we will crash in 0-3 years. If we go "all out" starting NOW to carefully and wisely make wholesale changes, we might solve our problem in 7 years.
Matt Simmons knows whats comin. He's a great leader and has done an excellent job of presenting our dilemma in positive, motivating ways for years now.
He's quite clear. He doesn't need anyone to speak for him or interpret his words.
To paraphrase: he says that the problem is as serious as a heart attack but that he believes we can overcome these challenges in about 7 years if we get our act together and don't screw it up.
That's not Doomer-speak.
How dare Simmons indulge our sense of hope. Crazy, pie in the sky, cornucopian! Just when we're nicely mentally prepared to cook the cat for dinner, while freezing to death in the dark, along comes this a**h*le, to take away all of our hopes and dreams. The creep!
I suspect he's not talking about maintaining our generally wonderful standard of living. I think instead he's talking about acting immediately to avoid a total economic calamity. _________________ Got Dharma?
Joined: Aug 03, 2007 Posts: 4590 Location: Boston Suburbs
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 8:29 am Post subject: Re: Matt Simmons Doesn't Sound Like A Doomer
The only sense of hope I see coming out of Matt is the fact that he is still trying to run a for-profit business. I would be pretty worried if he decides to throw in the towel and hunker down in his new bugout in Maine. _________________ http://doomsteaddiary.blogspot.com/
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:20 am Post subject: Re: Matt Simmons Doesn't Sound Like A Doomer
mos6507 wrote:
The only sense of hope I see coming out of Matt is the fact that he is still trying to run a for-profit business. I would be pretty worried if he decides to throw in the towel and hunker down in his new bugout in Maine.
Mos, if you have enough money you can prepare and dine in the finest restaurants all at the same time. Just look at his buddy GW. That guy chops firewood, drives his own mountain bike, rides around in Air Force one, and owns a 100,000 acre 'retreat' in Paraguay (replete with its own self-contained solar power system.)
At this point, Simmon's business is a hobby. His nice vision of the future, the 'village economy,' is for his country-club buddies. It sounds like a Kinkaid Community to me. _________________ ree rah rip ram. sunofabitch godamn. hidey didey christ almighty. rah rah crap
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
News
Discussions
Resources
Members
Forum FAQ
Search
Usergroups
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
ree rah rip ram. sunofabitch godamn. hidey didey christ almighty. rah rah crap 
