Archive for the 'collapse' Category
When Do I get My Bailout
I always thought “personal responsibility” was a platform of the modern conservative Republican party, along with “let the market sort things out”.
Turns out that’s true only if you’re not a massive corporation, since Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are joining Bear Stearns for another taxpayer-funded bailout. What’s that line about private profits, public risk?
the [...]
Weak Position
Invading Iraq was supposed to give us cheaper gas and greater energy. It was supposed to enhance our strength in the Middle East.
That must explain why, for the second time in a row, the President has gone begging to the Saudis for more oil, and for the second time in a row, has been [...]
Long Emergency
In comments to Ghost Towns, Alex writes:
To most Americans, large cities are for cultural and sporting events.
Some of them may live in one for a few years after graduation, then
they’re planning to spawn in the burbs.
They’ll go bankrupt before they move into the cities.
He’s probably right: the comment reminded of something Kunstler wrote [...]
Ha Ha, Part 2
A few weeks ago, we learned that thanks to the bankruptcy Bill of 2005, written by and for the banking and credit industry, more people are defaulting on their mortgages while keeping current with their credit cards. There was much mirht:
Washington Mutual, Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. [...]
HA HA.
Building on atrios’ observation that more and more people are walking away from their mortgages they can’t afford, I had a nice chuckle at this:
“We’re seeing people who are current on their credit cards but are defaulting on their mortgages,” Mr. Lewis says. “I’m astonished that people would walk away from their homes.”
Mr. Lewis is [...]
In Heaven There Is No Beer, and We May Run Out Here Too
Speaking of supply and demand, I ran into a very disturbing article tonight. Not only is oil production down, but so is hops production, and this could make for some very steep price hikes in the cost of your favorite brew (particularly for those who gravitate to craft brews, rather than the AnhauserBuschCoorsMiller swill). And, [...]
Read More..>>Hitting the Fan
Ice-free Arctic could be here in 23 years
The Arctic ice cap has collapsed at an unprecedented rate this summer and levels of sea ice in the region now stand at a record low, scientists said last night. Experts said they were “stunned” by the loss of ice, with an area almost twice as big as [...]
Bees: Closer to Home
The disappearance of the bees hits New Jersey
Jean-Claude Tassot felt the sunshine spilling over his shoulders. It was unseasonably warm for January — a good day, he decided, to check his honeybees. So Tassot jumped in his truck and rumbled over the back roads of Morris County to the first of the eight farms where [...]
Getting What We Deserve
In the past few days, I’ve seen a few more articles on the rapidly disappearing bee population.
From a kos diary:
Albert Einstein once predicted that if bees were to disappear, man would follow only a few years later.
That hypothesis could soon be put to the test.
Now in Spain, hundreds of thousands of colonies have been lost [...]
Too Little, Too Late
Back in the 1990s, I spent about a year as a door-to-door canvasser for Greenpeace. soliciting memberships and money. Back then, there was still a LOT of debate about global warming and human responsibility for the problem, but one phrase stood out for me: the “make it or break it decade”.
This is how scientists [...]
