Global warming will cost world $9 trillion: report

If someone knows where I can find a copy of the Stern report they mention, please drop me a line.

Indeed, with reports like this coming out nearly every day, it’s hard not to be schizophrenic.

via ABC News Online Australia.

The world’s biggest economic evaluation of climate change says if countries do not act now the world will face a depression worse than that of the 1930s.

The report puts the global cost of global warming and its effects at $A9 trillion – a bill greater than the combined cost of the two world wars and the Great Depression. It represents a fifth of the global economy.

Situation in Zim ‘tragic’ – IMF

Some more bright news from everyone’s favorite slave-state inducing economists at the IMF:

1200%, people. That means your 50 cent bag of chips in the vending machine would now cost $4; your gas would cost $36/gal. In addition there’s a drought. So the potato field you would plant in response to the prevention of your family’s starvation would be decimated.

I wish I could get some statistics on current worldwide droughts (read my post on the drought in the Amazon), because “modern agriculture” is in response tapping underground water tables and freshwater streams en masse (in addition to multinational corporations like Coke and Pepsi), which is causing rapid decreases of water supplies in many places.

This means:

• In probably 20-30 years, no more underground water reserves in many areas.
• Prolonged droughts will become the norm for many areas.
• Without sufficient transport (oil-powered trucks or boats), many will be forced to immigrate or starve.
• Due to massive immigration, many countries already above carrying capacity will have to shoulder the load of more illegals as well as feeding their own populations.
• What will probably happen is point 3.

The Age of Cheap Oil is over. Any suggestions as for what we should do?
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,,2-11-1662_2000057,00.html

Singapore – The economic prospects for Zimbabwe are “grim”, the International Monetary Fund said on Saturday, after data from the southern African nation showed annual inflation rose to a record high above 1 200% in August.

Power cut off in wide areas of Tokyo

I’ve always thought that Japan would probably be the number two country (behind the US) in trouble due to its energy import profile, even in spite of their extensive energy conservation measures and leadership. Remember, this is the country where many (energy-wise) highly-unrealistic visions of the future have been coming (at least for the later part of the 20th century).Can this be taken as evidence of an imminent decline?

http://tinyurl.com/kd378

TOKYO – A power outage hit wide swaths of Tokyo and nearby Chiba early Monday, halting train service in some areas, news reports said. It was not immediately clear what caused the power to be cut off.

At least two elevators stopped in central Tokyo with an unspecified number of people inside in the blackout, according to Tokyo fire official Keisuke Hayashi. He could not provide other details, saying officials were investigating the extent of the damage.

Media reports said that several trains services were halted. Japan was in the middle of a holiday, and the number of passengers during the morning rush hour was fewer than usual.

Public broadcaster NHK said that about 670,000 houses and other buildings were without power as of 8:15 a.m. local time.

Scarcity, the mother of invention

Yet another argument for human innovation and ingenuity. Ladies and gentlemen, look no further than Japan for a realistic perspective on human innovation for the last 30 years.
Moreover, if there have been wars over salt, why be so quick to rule one out over oil? Granted, there are far more NWO/secret-society complications with the onset of the current nation-state arrangement, but the pattern of the rape and pillaging of defenseless countries and their peoples continues, doesn’t it?

found at Energybulletin: http://energybulletin.net/19220.html

by Stephen L. Sass, NY Times via International Herald Tribune

In the wake of the closure of a BP oil field in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, oil prices shot up to $77 a barrel on Wednesday, and the chorus of doomsayers concerned about the dire consequences of our fossil fuel dependency has reached a crescendo. If oil hits $100 a barrel, the impact on the economy could be catastrophic, the handwringers warn. But while such a specter seems novel and terrifying, it is in fact familiar and useful.

Throughout history, shortages of vital resources have driven innovation, and energy has often starred in these technological dramas. The search for new sources of energy and new materials has frequently produced remarkable advances that no one could have imagined when the shortage first became evident.

China’s economy is out of control (and that’s not a good thing)

I love how everyone says “China is gonna be the next superpower” without actually sitting down, beer in hand, and crunching some numbers. Yes, they do have a million-man standing army. Yes, they do hold a massive amount of the US’ import debt. Yes, they do have nukes. But is that enough to ensure a 21st-century USA-style global domination? Maybe. Then again, probably not.Why not, you ask? Here are some reasons:

1. “Chinese people” don’t all speak “the same language”. They can read the same language – but that doesn’t quite come off the same when you want to pull off a Nuremberg rally. A recent poll showed that only around 50% of people had learned Standard Mandarin, the official government-sanctioned second language, despite a recent massive ad-blitz advocating proficiency.

More blackouts feared in California

Among many other reports of blackouts. Simple logic: blackouts are caused by energy demand from customers: industrial users, individual users, small businesses. The world does not have enough resources to allow every man, woman, and child the use of an air conditioner, every time, in 100+ degree weather, for the next 100 years. There’s simply not enough energy. In the next 20 years, don’t think the cost of the American lifestyle is gonna hit you? Think again.

http://tinyurl.com/pa468

By SAMANTHA YOUNG
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Scorching heat pushed California’s electricity supply to the brink Monday and threatened another round of blackouts as utility crews across the state struggled to restore power to tens of thousands of people left in the dark over the weekend.

Authorities warned that the eighth day of the heat wave could drive demand for electricity in California to an all-time high. Some businesses cut their power usage under a program that grants them lower rates if they agree to conserve during a crisis.

Meanwhile, utilities in the St. Louis area and New York City also labored to restore power to hundreds of thousands whose electricity was knocked out by storms and equipment failures.

Miliband unveils carbon swipe-card plan

This article sure has undertones of “666”/one world government to it, in one sense. But realistically, such an ordinance would be impossible to enforce, especially with six billion people, corrupt authorities, and the implausibility of free-market rationing. More on this in another post.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/green/story/0,,1824238,00.html

David Adam and David Batty
Wednesday July 19, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

The environment minister, David Miliband, today unveiled a radical plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by charging individuals for the amount of carbon they use.

Under the proposals, consumers would carry bank cards that record their personal carbon usage. Those who use more energy – with big cars and foreign holidays – would have to buy more carbon points, while those who consume less – those without cars, or people with solar power – would be able to sell their carbon points.

The peak oil crisis: energy & building

The latest from Tom Whipple, via Energybulletin via Falls Church News. It should be noted that despite Japan’s massive efforts in energy efficiency, they are still the number 2 user of oil in the world behind the United States.

by Tom Whipple

When worldwide oil depletion sets in, initial concern will be with transportation. First attention will be fixated on the “unbelievable” gas prices, then, what to do with the SUVs, miles per gallon, public transit, bicycles, telecommuting, and anything else having to do with getting ourselves and our stuff around.

In time however, it will dawn on us that cheap oil played a bigger role in our daily lives than just propelling cars. It won’t be long before other concerns arise such as growing, raising, transporting, and preparing food, and keeping our buildings habitable. I would like to talk about buildings in an era without cheap oil, without cheap natural gas, and without cheap electricity.

End of the World Poll

(Note: Sorry if you couldn’t read this properly. If you click here and scroll to the bottom, you should be able to read the whole question and available answers.)

[5/4/2013 update: sorry, dead link]