The End of Pax Americana and the Downfall of American Society

Discuss.





This topic has always interested me. As a child, I was influenced by my father, an architect and new urbanist, who deteted suburban sprawl and the like. As an undergrad, I studied history with an emphasis on the relationship between economy/environment. Consequently, I tend to be vocal on the subject of our nation's future. I'd like to hear more from the Libertarian/Ron Paul supporters on this website.

Comments on: energy (consumption of and renewable sources), politics, economy, monetary policy, environmental degradation, etc, whatever.


Let's keep this thread as open as possible.






I'll start by saying this: Most widely touted forms of renewable energy (wind, solar, biofuels, etc) are NOT a solution to our energy woes. I lived in a building powered by a windmill and solar panels and studied these sources as an undergrad. Simply put, they generally require more energy to make and maintain then they produce, usually equaling a net LOSS of energy.

Another good starting point for debate:

The Federal Reserve Bank....

hhmm...

Maybe this was a bad idea for a thread...

Wat?

maybe you should ask for the thread to be moved to the politics section.

as for renewable energy, while i don't think that these kinds of energy alone can be used to sustain our life styles, i think that they can be used along side conventional sources of energy, which would cut the consumption rates therefore allowing the reserves to last for a longer time. this would mean that there will be more time for new sources and technologies to be developed.

i was watching this thing on msnbc yesterday and it showed how two brothers in illinois modified a hybrid so that it could do 100 mpg. they had added an extra battery to the car and with each charge it would go for around 30-50 miles, and each charge only cost 35 cents. if one could use solar and other forms of energy to charge the batterys, then i can only assume that the gas consumption would be cut by a hell of a lot.

solar energy technologies are also advanceing at a very fast pase. i was reading about these new types of pannels that you could spray onto a surface and they would guarantee them for 25 years.