(#319) “The Crash Course” Chapter 2: The Three “E”s
As posted on the Peak Prosperity.com and the Chris Martenson’s Peak Prosperity YouTube Channel
Background
The Crash Course has provided millions of viewers with the context for the massive changes now underway, as economic growth as we’ve known it is ending due to depleting resources. But it also offers real hope. Those individuals who take informed action today, while we still have time, can lower their exposure to these coming trends — and even discover a better way of life in the process.
In this Blog, I am presenting the 27 (inclusive of the introduction) installments of The Crash Course, one per week.
Previous installments of “The Crash Course” can be found here:
Chapter 2 of 26: The Three “E”s
Transcript
So, what do I mean when I say “massive change is upon us”? Well, here’s where we need to burrow into the three “E”s, which is where we’ll spend the rest of our time in The Crash Course.
The first “E” is the Economy, which is the lens through which The Crash Course looks at everything. We care about the economy because everything we wish to see happen technologically. All of our jobs and hopes and dreams depend on a functioning economy. With a functioning economy, we can readily meet whatever challenges may come. Without one, well, much less is possible and we are all less resilient. Within The Economy there are four primary areas of concern:
- exponential money,
- the first-ever collapse of a global credit binge,
- an aging population, and
- a national failure to save.
If it isn’t clear to you what these mean, don’t worry, we’ll be discussing each of these in detail.
The next “E” is Energy, and there we will discuss what ‘Peak Cheap Oil’ implies for our economic system. It’s very important to understand just how over-dependent the global economy is to abundant and inexpensive supplies of energy. In fact, this topic is so important that I should dedicate the entire Crash Course to it, but we don’t have the time.
Finally, the third “E” . . . the Environment . . . will be exerting its own significant economic burdens due to diminishing resources. Resource scarcity reduces what we can take from the natural world to fuel our lifestyles, and environmental collapse thresholds place increasingly obvious limits on the waste streams we can put back into it.
The story that I am going to weave for you cuts across all three “E”s and will make the claim that our very economic system is badly out of step with reality and will suffer severe instability and possibly collapse as a result. It is fair to say that this particular constellation of issues, problems if you will, has never been faced before at these levels. Not in your country’s history. And not even in human history – at least, not on such a global scale.
Whether you find this terrifying or exhilarating is simply a matter of your mindset. You can see this as a doomsday scenario, or as a once-in-a-lifetime call to action to make the world a better place for our generation and those that will follow. The choice is up to you. But the key to making the best choice is being armed with accurate and detailed information. That is what the Crash Course will deliver.
When viewed individually each one of the sub-areas on each of the “E”s could entirely consume your entire attention. I am going to make the claim that these problems are so intertwined that they cannot be solved in isolation. Instead, all three “E”s need to be considered at the same time because the same underlying pressure connects them all. How are they linked? By the very powerful law of Physics that we desperately need to understand a lot better.
Please join me for the next chapter: Exponential Growth
Chapters are between 3 and 25 minutes in length. All 27 sections (inclusive of the introduction) take 4 hours and 36 minutes to watch in full.
Chris Martenson, is a former American biochemical scientist and Vice President of Science Applications International Corporation. Currently he is an author and trend forecaster interested in macro trends regarding the economy, energy composition and the environment at his site, www.peakprosperity.com.