Intriguing Nevertheless

While I understand what Ed is saying (and agree), don't worry, it isn't going to happen. No CEO will suddenly wake up and do this (if only).

But to publish the idea and get some people thinking even slightly differently from BAU is intriguing.

In the same way that Ralph Nadar just published his novel about super rich becoming fed up with corporate evil and turning against them.

We also saw this in Steven Speilberg's Schindler's List. An inspiring, inspiring account which still resonates with me to this day.

So lets keep these articles and ideas coming. Ed, even you know that there are many disillusioned rich people who would support the Underground if given the chance.

We have allies in the most amazing places!

Great coverage.

But.... isn't it the main

But.... isn't it the main purpose of a democracy to have equal rights and prevent extortion, theft and the legalization of all kind of crimes ?

"Wealth can not be created, only taken..."

Perfect equality and property rights are a silly, ideological dream, as we all have different interests and talents that give us different potentials and ultimately different degree possessions.

But there's a limit to everything and we had a reasonable wealth distribution system after WW2 until about the 70s, when the present criminal economic theory was forced on the world by the conspiracy of an international mafia like sector, glorified by politicians as the "most competitive" and then finalized by bank deregulation, the ultimate crime.

A political/economic/democratic system must work like a road system, where all kinds of users and vehicles have the same right to go anywhere, provided they comply with strictly enforced laws, preventing damage and the loss
of property and lives, enforced by an impartial and independent legal force.

Our present system is the glorification of the "Road Warrior" movie, enforced by "conservative" ideologies and governments.

Is this the future people want ????

Ed Deak.

Democratic Energy Distribution?

Ed, I follow your contributions with interest, however, to rant against the power structure, is one thing, but please tell me about the alternative you propose to the current power dominance which (we the people) abhor. I am reading Rodger Malcolm Mitchell on how Sovereign Money works, and it seems that we the people have a lot more power than we are willing to realize, if, and only if we are willing to demand that those we elect fully understand how money supply gets distributed. Energy distribution, now that's a whole different problem, that we need very many highly educated we the people to work on. Fire needs carbon and oxygen!

“Could Financial Might Backing Oil Sands Shift to Renewables?”

Of course, at some point it won’t have a choice. Unfortunately, due the fact that fiduciary duty prevents tackling financial incentives, it won’t do it until the net energy invested in oil production exceeds the net energy gained. When the market realizes EROEI is heading into negative territory investment will gradually shift to renewables. The shift won’t be driven by climate change fears.

Oil Change claims its role is to identify the structural things that prevent us from moving to renewables. Great, but what are those structural things? Minimizing our reliance on all things plastic, like computer monitior’s? Perhaps Oil Change’s energy would be better spent looking at the thinking and tho’t processes that are leading us on a path to an unpleasant future.

Our population growth is a direct result of easy access to abundant cheap hydrocarbon energy and its plastic spinoffs. Cheap energy has made it possible for our numbers to reach its present level … 6.8 billion and growing at over 20 million a year. It’s unlikely that renewables will come on line fast enough to maintain those numbers or significantly change the course of climate change.

The transition to renewables will happen; but not because of our willingness to change. We won’t have a choice. And it will be painful. For a great many folks that pain is already being felt, just ask the folks North Africa and the Middle East

Stories of economic calamity and civil unrest aren’t front page news because we’re working on a shift to renewables.

Peak Oil

Even if there was a sudden benevolent act of oil CEO collusion to abandon oil and fund alternative energies, I wonder if it's too little, too late. The end of oil is not if, but when. I think it's a lot sooner than we think and we have no contingency plans in the works. None. Rather than announcing bold, new green energy policies, Obama is merely saying he wants to be less reliant on foreign oil.

I don't always agree with Ed's apocalyptic view of the new world financial order and the dark knights that control it, but there is truth in what he says, especially when it comes to the consolidation of oil capital. I think the root problem that got us into this mess in the first is capitalism, and making cosmetic changes to that model, putting green makeup on it - I'm not optimistic this is the solution. But as others ask, what's the alternative right now? We are held hostage by big capital, big oil. When that oil runs dry, they'll have the keys to the solar, wind, bioenergy and hydro plants, and we'll be facing the same issues. What's needed right now, not next year, is a radical paradigm shift the globe over, yet I don't see it. I see more oil wars and emerging China and India demanding their middle class consumer frills, which means a lot more oil, and a lot more population and pressure on the planet.

structural things?

"Their worlds are about maximizing shareholder value and investments and other things that make perfect sense for the professions in which they are in."

Yes, that is their world...but it makes no sense. Even as short a time as 30 years ago most corporations were managed with the long term view of share price, not the quarterly value. If you are planning for the next 20 years, you will make different decisions than if you are merely thinking about the next quarter.

Want to move to renewables? End all subsidies to oil companies, for any reason. Increase the corporate tax rate. Craft and put into law the toughest environmental standards that the best scientific minds determine. For companies that violate environmental laws ( or employment standards, or human rights) in a serious way, insist on jail time for the perpetrators. These measures would both ensure that the true and total costs of extracting oil are borne by the companies - and everybody is on the same playing field. It also ensures that CEOs manage according to the spirit, not the letter of the law, if they might face jail time.

Personally, I refuse to believe it is rocket science to solve these problems. It is ideology, pure and simple.

Shut down Oil

...and they'll use coal and gas. There are over 600 coal plants in the United States.

"massive coal deposits in Alaska. These hard-to-get deposits hold as much as 3,200 billion tons of coal: enough to maintain current U.S. production (one billion tons a year) for 3,200 years..

Nor do the calculations even include all of the U.S. technically recoverable deposits of coal: The U.S. has 488 billion tons of this category of coal (enough for 488 years) –"

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/commentary/neil-reynolds/the-fossil-fuel-king-of-the-world/article1972080/

"Of fossil fuels, coal combustion in thermal power stations result in greater amounts of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of electricity generated (2249 lbs/MWh) while oil produces less (1672 lb/(MW·h) or 211 kg/GJ) and natural gas produces the least 1135 lb/(MW·h) (143 kg/GJ)." Wiki

Onaly after they squeeze the last

barrel of oil out of the ground will they turn their attention to other energies

Media.....I've been

Media.....I've been researching the common denominator of history's tragedies for over 60 years and put things down to the best of my knowledge and personal life experience under all ideologies.

The only solution is is to look at the cold hard facts without any ideology and faith based nonsense and then let people make their own decisions which way to go within their societies.

We have made our decision to build a self sufficient, energy efficient lifestyle and are reaping the benefits in our old age.

The coming depression will most likely wake most people up to the fraud that has been misleading them, and start thinking, how to solve their problems. It can be done, many of us have done it.

But, regardless how obvious things and facts are,some will still go on the same old, self destructive ways, misled by phony prophets.

Some still believe that the world was created 7,000 years ago, with Adam and Eve under the apple tree, and although the North and South Poles are breaking up, the world's glaciers are disappearing, we had no -45 C in this area since 1995 and are surrounded by millions of acres of dead forests, killed by bugs because their eggs haven't been killed by frost, they maintain that there's no global warming.

In their fertile imagination, the claim of global warming is a socialist plot to halt "economic growth" and "wealth creation", while 30 million starve to death every year over the globe, most of them little kids, who never had a square meal in their miserable lives.

So, what is the solution? Some ruling class to give orders? Hasn't the world seen enough of them through history and what have they really achieved, apart from causing more misery and ecological destruction in every age ?

So, why believe their claims now that everything is OK, "growth" will solve all problems.

We can see the results.

Ed Deak.

.

Self Sufficiency and No Growth Economy!

Ed, your postings and deeply felt concerns for the plight of humanity are always a pleasure to read. Even if others are paid to try and distract your message with irrelevant commentary. Its pretty obvious when they do.

You are absolutely correct about the value of self sufficiency, the wisdom of a steady-state society, and the repudiation of the ruling class, who appear in every ideology.

Most 'real' people who I meet know this and fully agree. Always have and always will. How the majority can peel off the grasp of the elite is the question. Two primary sources of control are the dependence on money and dependence on oil/energy. The less of these toxic materials we can use, the better.

One day, we might even be as free as the citizens of Egypt who were able to actually publicly express their dislike of their rulers, in great numbers, without violence.

Creating the (sustainable) future we want ...

A few things come to my mind when I think of how to better influence the petro industry execs:

- on several occasions I've heard Ray Anderson, founder and president of Interface Carpet, speak about how he came to the very kind of epiphany described in this article: namely, he came to a sudden realization of the need to wean Interface from an oil-consuming glutton to a truly sustainable manufacturer (net-zero-carbon emitter). He's got lots of important insights and people can Google this and see for themselves what he has to say about his subsequent journey and the challenges his company faced and overcame.

- do more to provide incentives and acknowledgments and rewards (award?) for companies, orgs, individuals, even communities "doing the right thing". These can be symbolic, tacit gestures. Progressive media like the Tyee could be doing this, so could NGOs like 350.org, Avaaz, etc.

- Progressive media and NGOs (like Avaaz I'm thinking) can do more to illuminate just how issues are being manipulated, and (simply) connect the dots showing the results of backroom dealing to influence creation of new legislation, and the gutting and revision of old, etc. It's behind a cloak of obscurity that much (most?) of this is happening and I think more must be done to shine the light on ... who's doing what to whom and why.

I agree this is a very significant problem, reflecting a core pathology of a society entranced by false dreams of unrestricted wealth and power and unwilling to recognize and balance the social and environmental consequences of pursuing this dream.

- Michael Maser