freediver wrote on Sep 29
th, 2010 at 8:24am:
Quote:So, the sun now acts as a fertiliser
You were talking about energy PN. The sun is a source of energy.
That's not quite the full story, FD!
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You said,
"Humans can't eat electricity. We can't wear it. We can't sit on it and ride around the country." I replied with -
"Can't we? Don't we?
What do you think is involved in getting Food & Drink, onto the dinner table?
At every point of the Agricultural & Manufacturing process, there is the indirect & direct involvement of Energy, be it via machinery that runs on Energy (electricity generated from Coal, Oil & Gas) or involving compounds, such as those used in making Fertiliser.
If there is no Energy, increased Energy scarcity or simply a large increase in Energy costs, then Food & Drink will become less available to an increasing number of the Global Population!
A Vast amount of what we wear IS ACTUALLY MADE FROM SYNTHETIC MATERIALS , which are manufactured on machinery that runs on Energy (electricity generated from Coal, Oil & Gas) and often from Oil based compounds.
Many chairs that you sit on, particularly Plastic ones, are manufactured on machinery that runs on Energy (electricity generated from Coal, Oil & Gas) and often from Oil based compounds.
What do you think runs cars, trucks, electric trains, planes etc!"Your reply was -
freediver wrote on Sep 28
th, 2010 at 10:10pm:
Quote:At every point of the Agricultural & Manufacturing process, there is the indirect & direct involvement of Energy
Are you afraid the sun will stop shining?
My reply was -
perceptions_now wrote on Sep 29
th, 2010 at 12:09am:
freediver wrote on Sep 28
th, 2010 at 10:10pm:
Quote:At every point of the Agricultural & Manufacturing process, there is the indirect & direct involvement of Energy
Are you afraid the sun will stop shining?
So, the sun now acts as a fertiliser, the sun runs the machinery that sows & reaps, as well as getting involved in the making of that machinery and the sun then fuels the vehicles that transport the agriculatural produce to the wholesaler, to the supermarket & then to the home for consumption?
Gee, that sun has got very busy, while I wasn't watching it today!
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I'm not sure which planet you are living on, but the humans on this planet need Energy to continue any sort of complex society.
The Energy Supply needs to be varied, to accommodate the varied tasks that are required, such as power generation & a largely liquid form of Energy to run the existing transport fleet.
It should be noted that we may be able to transition away from liquids for Transport, but the transition would take 20-30 years and massive amounts of Capital, which is currently not available, due to existing Debt levels.
Your thread, this thread, is about Economic Growth & Resource Consumption.
Clearly, there are diverging factors involved there -
1) Under the Economic Status Quo, Growth is regarded as a pre-requisite, as is shown by the Monetary system and the every utterance of almost all Politicians, Economists & Big Business.
2) One of the leading factors involved in delivering Economic Growth is Population Growth, as it provides for an automatic, built in growth in Demand for Products & Services of every description.
3) Energy Growth, in all of the required forms, is a pre-requisite to track Population & Demand.
Energy is what Enables Population & Demand to continue to grow, they are all in lockstep.
If Energy Growth does not track Population & Demand Growth &/or the Energy to Global GDP ratio increases significantly, thus removing large portions of Personal &/or National disposable income capacity, then the Global Economy will go into decline or collapse completely, depending on the size of the Decline in Energy Supply &/or the increase in Energy Costs!
Now, you can go off on one of your irrelevant tangents, as you usual do, but it will not change the fact that, both economic growth vs resource consumption WILL GO INTO DECLINE, if Energy is unable to track the Growth of Population & Demand growth or there is a significant Energy cost increase!
Finally, as I have said previously, it may be possible that human intellect may outweigh the other 7 deadly human conditions (sins), but I just don't think we can run good public policy, on such a wing & a prayer.