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  • From: SArjuna@aol.com
  • To: toby@patternliteracy.com
  • Cc: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] Toby- Re. "Apocalypse Not" - How do you see it presently?
  • Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:20:31 EST

Dear Toby,

A discussion group has spun off of a larger group on sustainability in
SE Wisconsin (sustainable_se_wisconsin@yahoogroups.com). We are presently
discussing the decline of oil production, and your controversial piece
"Apocalypse Not" is on our reading list.

It's been a couple of years since you wrote that article, and it'd
further our discussion to hear how your point of view is evolving, if you
will
kindly share a bit about that.

I have listed below the five points that you saw as false, followed by
comments of my own in italics, as it seems that events between early 2006 and
now have not supported the thesis that these points are false.

1. Our demand for oil is unchangeable and is not significantly affected by
price. [It hasn't been so far, even though the price has climbed steeply.
The
poorest countries, however, are already suffering plenty, as they can no
longer afford the energy needed to support their infrastructures.]

2. We are so badly addicted to oil that we will watch our civilization
collapse rather than change our behavior. [Certainly no good news yet. If
the
U.S. Dept. of Enrgy report that said we'd need a decade of flat-out
nationwide
effort before peak, "or the problem will be pervasive and will not be
temporary" is accurate, we are in for it.]

3. Significant oil conservation is not possible in the time frame needed.
[We haven't even begun to conserve.]

4. Even with conservation, demand will be more than oil plus alternatives can
possibly meet. ["Dampening" of demand occuring in poor nations is the
only factor lowering demand so far. Alternatives have not added anything
significant yet, but have threatened world food supplies. Production has
been
flat since about the time you wrote the article. Conservation is still just
a
gleam in the eye of idealists. Only demand has increased significantly.

5. Society is so fragile that it cannot withstand large shocks.
[Previous complex societies have collapsed under multiple stresses, as
outlined in Tainter's book, The Collapse of Complex Societies. With
peak oil,
global climate change, an economy running on fumes.... our society is facing
more large stresses than others that succumbed to fewer. No complex society
has
lasted long, due to the fragility caused by complexity. And no society has
been as complex as ours.]

As more time passes, with nothing constructive being done, it gets
harder and harder to see a positive outcome.

How does it look to you now?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Shivani Arjuna
Belgium, WI, USA


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