[Graeme]

Clean energy to be discussed at G8 Summit 6-8 July. This looks like a step in the right direction at last: link

[Tyler_JC]

Berlin, Germany
London, UK
Moscow, Russia
Ottawa, Canada
Paris, France
Rome, Italy
Tokyo, Japan
Washington DC, USA

So which G8 Capital City is the best? (best to live in, best to survive PO in, best to find a decent restaraunt, whatever)

Use whatever justification you want for your answer so long as you have one.

I was going to make this a poll but for some reason the polls aren't working.

Out of sheer blind Patriotism I'd say Washington DC is the best. But given its high crime rate, high poverty rate, high unemploment, lack of cultural stock, police state leanings, etc...I think Paris may take the lead.

I don't know, what does everyone else think?

And if you want, you use this thread as an opportunity to bash the G8 and the evils of globlization.

[sklump]

Berlin, Germany has lived provisionally for the whole Oil Era: Prussian Empire, confederation, Weimar republic, crippling war reparations, the whole Nazi thing, Communists/Big Wall, unification. I have almost certainly called some things by the wrong name, but the gist is that the city's already been in turmoil for the last 150 years anyway. For a state of mind of make-do, work-through-it, probably can't beat Berlin anywhere in the G8.

[sklump]

... in fairness, Washington is hardly the real capital of the USA, New York (Wall Street) is. Similarly, Ottawa is not the real capital of Canada: Toronto (Bay Street) is.

Including these choices pits 2nd-tier cities against 1st-tier cities.

[Barbara]

Out of blind patriotism, I'd say Rome .
Of course, all these cities will be a mess and I hope to be out of mine when time will come. But...
- Rome has the best climate of all
- It has a low crime rate.
- There's solidarity (more or less) and people are friendly each other (more or less... it's a 4 million city after all)
- Believe or not, I've read Rome has the most extended farmland *inside* the city in the whole EU. The farms inside the city perimeter are protected and encouraged in their business.
- The Rome region (Lazio) has the most extended areas devoted to organic farmic (biodynamic also)
- A lot of food comes from surrounding areas
- There's no risk of floods, hurricanes or earthquakes
- Sea is 15 miles far... fish within biking distance
- No problems of water; many acqueducts work with gravity and not with electric pumps
- There's low risk of people hoarding from other countries, it's too far unless they come sailing!

Hope I've convinced you NOT to come here! LOL

[Ebyss]

I'm gonna go with Rome too... for all the reasons Barbara has mentioned, and also because it's the most beautiful city in the world. You may as well enjoy the view while the world crumbles.

[Hawkcreek]

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[gnm]

I'm going to go with Rome also, just keep in mind that it has a history of being sacked by Germanic hordes!


-G

[sklump]

Hawkcreek -- shhhhh!

Twice a year, it gets too cold to snow: January, then February.

[Hawkcreek]

--

[sklump]

The smiles are probably tourists, happy because they're on vacation.

Ottawa has lots of cycle paths
Ottawa will not be able to afford to maintain them
Ottawa is already the bike theft capital of North America: within 2 days, your stolen bike will be in Amsterdam or London.
Canada's military has no history of local junta action
Ottawa will probably be crawling with US Special Ops "helping", shooting locals for kicks and spraying DU everywhere.
Ottawa has lots of green space that could be farmed in a pinch
Ottawa has 3 rivers running through it
2 of them are downriver from current or former nuke plants - what could possibly go wrong?
Ottawa's economy depends on the Federal Public Service. Post-peak, Quebec and Alberta may separate, making it a border town, probably militarized, with a gutted economy and a population unsuited to the new reality.

Bottom line is, Ottawa will be fine for 100,000 people and it already has about 1.2 million. Best stay where you are: the winter will cripple you if you're not used to it and a manic hungry local may take your boots and eat you. Then he'd have something to smile about!

[Yavicleus]

Washington DC is a fucking shithole. I lived near it most of my life and I'm very, very glad to get away from it.

Any city that would re-elect a proven crackhead and whoremonger isn't a city that you want to be in post-peak.

[lotrfan55345]

Tokyo before TSHTF.

Culture, Shopping, Electronics, Shopping, Food, Shopping, Fasion, Shopping... vibe.

[Longsword]

Very interesting read, especially this quote:

As energy importers, most of the G8 members are alarmed by the way oil and gas prices have been sent rocketing by record demand and political instability in places such as Iraq, Iran and Nigeria.

...no one is pretending that most of the delegates' attention won't be devoted to energy.

Full article here: BBC news

[benk]

Heh, the G8 has been talking about this stuff forever. It seems every meeting they say they have to do something about energy prices. I love this quote though from the Moscow meeting: "high and volatile energy prices pose a threat to global economic growth"

Ummm...isn't the reason we have high and volatile energy prices because of global economic growth?

[GreyZone]

It is reported that the G-8 Ministers, who met in Moscow on March 15th and 16th, considered an Energy Security Plan, to cost 17 trillion dollars, which is designed to secure world energy supplies for the next 25 years. It is built on five proposals :
• To find new reserves of oil and gas at a faster rate than the existing reserves are depleted;
• To increase oil and gas output by, among other things, more drilling on the continental shelf;
• To expand production capacity in oil-refining, petrochemical and gas processing industries;
• To develop new electric power facilities, with an emphasis on nuclear and hydro-power plants; and
• To introduce clean coal technology.

Comments?

My initial observation - their first point has not been true for years and will likely never be true again. If their assumptions are invalid, can the conclusion be trusted?

[americandream]

Oh well...it was a pleasant junket...free booze and food and no doubt a bit on the side.

See you next year.

[Ludi]

It looks like a load of nonsense to me, having nothing to do with reality.

[Sys1]

What a bunch of idiots... And they got the power

[Barbara]

Can you provide a link?