Re: Energy, Infrastructure & Standard of Living
Posted: Sat 08 Aug 2015, 02:19:47
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@Seagypsy , glass rock or obsidian was the object of a vigorous trade all over the Mediterranean ,
In Venice ,the dreaded council of ten , a secret security organ charged with stamping out threats to the Serenissime republic would send agents to kill any master glassmakers , escaping to foreign countries to sell the secrets .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Ten
@ Tanada , while a stable sustainable economy would look like something close to the middle ages around 1000
it would take a fair few centuries to coast down to this level ,
there is vast amount of metal and material available for recycling and a large body of accumulated knowledge which would slowly evaporate but still provide comfort and know how until its technological base disappearance make it virtual and useless .
for some application such as astronomical navigation and sailing ships technology , it would take centuries ,
the modern freeways concrete bridges and road layout would remain, even if the road surfacing itself is destroyed
by iron shod wheels as it was before rubber tires ,
the Roman network of roads was in use for centuries even after the gravel surface was worn away , leaving the underlay of flagstones exposed , it was not the material which was important but the tracing of it over the landscape
http://www.britannica.com/technology/Roman-road-system
I've though long and hard about the evolution of the human experience post peak and post fossil fuel
certainly the transition would bring big problems and , human nature being what it is , big turmoils
a managed glide down the population curve will probably bring massive conflicts ,
I suspect the insurgents with the lower technological level will, over the long run, have an advantage
those clinging to an expensive technology will soon enough not be able to afford or operate it
protecting the last oil fields for military use will in fact become a self fulfilling trap
during WW2 , while the red Army had an abundance of fuel and vehicles , there was still some very good use for cavalry for deep raiding , horses could be supplied by local ressources and could go where no vehicles would pass.
the population numbers are daunting ,
a very rough approximation is to take the population curve and mirror it downward ,
a loss of 5 billions in one hundred years then one billion the next century
in many places , internal recycling of human protein ( cannibalism ) will probably occur
http://www.roebuckclasses.com/105/human ... ncurve.htm
Nothing can be done about it ,no amount of preparation will suffice ,
the only comfort I can think of is that eventually ,life will go on
and wild earth, free from human pressure, will probably be the better for it .
@Seagypsy , glass rock or obsidian was the object of a vigorous trade all over the Mediterranean ,
In Venice ,the dreaded council of ten , a secret security organ charged with stamping out threats to the Serenissime republic would send agents to kill any master glassmakers , escaping to foreign countries to sell the secrets .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Ten
@ Tanada , while a stable sustainable economy would look like something close to the middle ages around 1000
it would take a fair few centuries to coast down to this level ,
there is vast amount of metal and material available for recycling and a large body of accumulated knowledge which would slowly evaporate but still provide comfort and know how until its technological base disappearance make it virtual and useless .
for some application such as astronomical navigation and sailing ships technology , it would take centuries ,
the modern freeways concrete bridges and road layout would remain, even if the road surfacing itself is destroyed
by iron shod wheels as it was before rubber tires ,
the Roman network of roads was in use for centuries even after the gravel surface was worn away , leaving the underlay of flagstones exposed , it was not the material which was important but the tracing of it over the landscape
http://www.britannica.com/technology/Roman-road-system
I've though long and hard about the evolution of the human experience post peak and post fossil fuel
certainly the transition would bring big problems and , human nature being what it is , big turmoils
a managed glide down the population curve will probably bring massive conflicts ,
I suspect the insurgents with the lower technological level will, over the long run, have an advantage
those clinging to an expensive technology will soon enough not be able to afford or operate it
protecting the last oil fields for military use will in fact become a self fulfilling trap
during WW2 , while the red Army had an abundance of fuel and vehicles , there was still some very good use for cavalry for deep raiding , horses could be supplied by local ressources and could go where no vehicles would pass.
the population numbers are daunting ,
a very rough approximation is to take the population curve and mirror it downward ,
a loss of 5 billions in one hundred years then one billion the next century
in many places , internal recycling of human protein ( cannibalism ) will probably occur
http://www.roebuckclasses.com/105/human ... ncurve.htm
Nothing can be done about it ,no amount of preparation will suffice ,
the only comfort I can think of is that eventually ,life will go on
and wild earth, free from human pressure, will probably be the better for it .