Sustainability is now a personal responsibility

Peak Oil theory, and geologist Jeffery Brown's subsequent Export Land Model, suggests that the United States faces a general permanent decline in both domestic oil production and oil imports. If true, and without a miracle "techno-rescue energy remedy", no "boom" recovery will occur. Therefore, the enormous personal and national debts that have accumulated to this point will either be defaulted or hyperinflated. No other option is forseeable.

This is a bad thing.

Eventually everyone will come to understand this forecast, but tragically many only through the rear view mirror. But *today* what really matters is who understands and acts FIRST.
Due to the intrinsic fraud of counterfeiting money through fractional reserve banking, the first account holders to redeem their paper and cash out get theirs - everyone who comes after else gets exactly zero - or more worthless paper with fresher ink.

Former Goldman Sachs CEO/Treasury Secretary Paulson and Friends (i.e. Dick Cheney) understood this *first*, which is why they are raiding the Treasury of the first and last *real* money, bequeathing the imaginary cash and "cash for trash" investments to the next President and citizens.

By January 2009, Paulson and Friends will have redeemed their wealth and will have moved on to safer harbors. By t he way, the "bonuses" that Wall Street executives allegedly gave up this year have simply been renamed "retention payouts" The checks go out this month - clever huh?

Now, most Americans would not be too concerned - they have been through "recessions" and "downtimes" before. All that is needed is a little time and some credit, and they will "get through" it. But, here is some new information for these people:

"The U.S. credit-card industry may pull back well over $2 trillion of lines over the next 18
months due to risk aversion and regulatory changes, leading to sharp declines in consumer
spending, prominent banking analyst Meredith Whitney said."
From: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4B01HI20081201

This action, if taken, will deny Americans their traditional "credit bailout" during an extremely critical time.

Personal credit is also growing exponentially, and as Groucho said on Black
Friday of 1929 "the gig is up". Credit card companies are cutting their loss potential, and
as a result, consumer spending in 2009 would PLUNGE by FORTY FIVE PERCENT (45%) -
and at precisely the time when these would people need credit the most - to purchase food,
car repairs, school supplies and heating fuels - all the critical little things that make daily
living possible during a "recession".

Here is the observation stated another way: (From http://sharonastyk.com/2008/12/02/780/)

"In difficult times, the American policy is to rely on credit as a reserve source,
as a substitute for savings. And that reserve is about to be pulled out from
under them. And for the best reasons - the ability to pay is declining rapidly.
Most Americans have no idea how they would pay off their debt in this economy - and my bet is that most of them won’t. Past recessions have been survived by increasing debt and sitting tight until things got better. Now, we can’t increase debt, and we can’t sit tight, and it will be a long time before things get better - much longer than most people forsee. You only have to look at the bank’s own reasoning here - they are withdrawing their credit lines because they don’t believe that a boom will come along and allow people to pay off before they are forced to default. They know that reducing credit on this scale will hurt them too - but their own internal analyses have convinced them that they are in more danger by loaning than they are by not loaning. Given the huge role of consumer credit in the economy, that’s one big shift."

The author of the above article did not address Peak Oil and energy decline.
But when those cursed with Peak Awareness are confronted with exponential
monetary debt in the Trillons, they have real reason for concern.

And sustainably minded might ask: What can we do?

Well, one idea would be to follow Paulson's example.
Be First!!! Grant yourselves bailout money and move to safer harbors.
Convert some of that investment paper and counterfeit currency called US
Dollars into real and useful items like cans of tomato soup, or perhaps some
gardening tools for a tomato garden, or even tomato growing small business. Worst case, if everything works out, you can sell the business and
re-invest in global markets after the storm clears. Get the picture?

The risks are real on both sides, but timing is critical now. The second in
line is the loser, as well as everyone in line behind. The biggest
threat is ***exponential*** increase of the raging debts, money growth
(i.e. Treasury counterfeiting), as well as exponentially increasing claims against
exponentially scarcer resources (i.e. soup cans at Walmart).

Noone is going to lead us out of this crisis. Today, we are talking in denominations of Trillons now (1,000,000,000,000) which will bloom to Quadrillions by 2010 (1,000,000,000,000,000). The problem is too large for us to be "lead away" by a new administration - it must simply collapse under its foolish weight.

Sustainability is now a personal responsibility.

To my neighbors and friends: We have to become producers, not
consumers/recipients/victims of circumstance.

 

I wonder who will be getting richer after this "crisis"?