Chapter 17a – Peak Oil: Energy is the lifeblood of any economy and a steady supply of energy is necessary to maintain the status quo, while an ever-increasing supply is needed to grow an economy. In this chapter, Dr. Chris Martenson explains that Peak Oil is not a theory, rather it is a description of how oil production increases over time, reaches a peak, then declines. Evidence points to a global production peak in the near future, which is troubling since the US imports two-thirds of its oil and relies on it to much of its transportation and food production needs. www.chrismartenson.com
www.mrjohnclarke.com “Roger, Financial Consultant” Originally aired on ABC 7 Report, 20/05/2010 World Economy Explained
Chapter 12 (Debt): Dr. Martenson explains how, since debt is a claim on future money, it is therefore a claim on future human labor. To put it simply, debt is future consumption taken today. Key Concept 7 is introduced, that “ever-growing debts implicitly assume that the future is going to be larger than the present.” Dr. Martenson challenges this assumption, and what it means for us if that condition of growth is not met. www.chrismartenson.com
Chapter 9 (A Brief History of US Money): Beginning with the panic of 1913, this chapter touches on important events in the history of US money, such as the creation of the Federal reserve, FDRs confiscation of private gold, the Bretton Woods agreement, and Nixons slamming of the gold window. We learn that the current international monetary system of unbacked currencies is only 37 years old, and is operating outside of the standards established by the Bretton Woods agreement. The system were operating within has not been planned or designed: it emerged out of a crisis. Dr. Martenson also provides graphs of total US Federal Debt, and Total US money stock, both of which are growing with no end in sight. www.chrismartenson.com Video Rating: 4 / 5
Chapter 17c – Energy and the Economy: What if our exponentially-based economic and monetary systems are really just an artifact of oil? What if all of our rich societal complexity and all of our trillions of dollars of wealth and debt simply are the human expression of surplus energy pumped from the ground? In this chapter, Dr. Chris Martenson predicts what will happen when economic, population, and energy growth reach their natural limits. www.chrismartenson.com
