Thread: THE NEXT 20 YEARS IN AMERICA By Frosty Wooldridge

THE NEXT 20 YEARS IN AMERICA

By Frosty Wooldridge
February 28, 2011
NewsWithViews.com

[Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article are solely Frosty Wolldridge's alone and not necessary the opinion of NWV, it's staff or other writers.]

We are SO unprepared for our future

First of all, I am an optimist. I love life! I get a kick out of being alive. I enjoy the American Dream more than most. I play, dance with my wife twice a week and look forward to the summer. I just finished a new book: How to Live a Life of Adventure: The Art of Exploring the World—publishing in May. Last year, I bicycled coast-to-coast across America for the 7th time. Last month, as I closed in on age 65, I skied to the top of a 13,209 foot peak at 31 below zero in Colorado. At the top: a glorious view of 100 miles in all directions to see the majestic snow-capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains! Robert Redford’s got nothing on me in his movie—Jeremiah Johnson!

While the average American, according to NPR, sits in front of a TV for 15 years of his/her life—I’m out there living, playing and adventuring! You can bet that I laugh a lot, pray a lot, appreciate my wife and family—and expect more adventures.

However, I am also cognizant of what our civilization faces in the next 20 years. To be downright realistic, I am not looking forward to it. How do I know what I am writing about? I’ve seen it up close and ugly in my 40 years of bicycle travel around the planet.

The next 20 years won’t be the cakewalk like the last 20 years! Why? While I cannot cover such a litany of challenges in three columns, you may be able to digest a few for starters.

First of all, gasoline will continue to rise in price from the current $3.19 cents here in Colorado and $3.46 in most of California, and topping out at $4.69 in West Covina, CA—to $5.00 a gallon this summer and higher beyond that. It’s already $6.69 in Europe. If you read Chris Steiner’s book, $20 Per Gallon, and I reviewed the book last year, ultimately gasoline will cost $10.00 a gallon and within 20 years or so, it will hit $20.00 per gallon. Why? Because we continue devouring that finite resource at an astounding 84 million barrels of oil every day of the year. That’s 400 million gallons per day in the USA alone! Poof! Up in carbon footprint as it pollutes our biosphere!

"The cheap oil age created an artificial bubble of plentitude for a period not much longer than a human lifetime....so I hazard to assert that as oil ceases to be cheap and the world reserves move toward depletion, we will be left with an enormous population...that the ecology of the earth will not support. The journey back toward non-oil population homeostasis will not be pretty. We will discover the hard way that population hyper growth was simply a side-effect of the oil age. It was a condition, not a problem with a solution. That is what happened and we are stuck with it." James Howard Kunstler, The Long Emergency

Oil’s decline will change everything! We will not be driving personal cars because we will be forced to use mass transit. It will change the way we shop, eat and travel. Bicycles, my favorite mode of transportation, will become more dominant in our cities. Unfortunately, we do not and have not found a replacement for oil even close to its energy-density and ease of transport.

Peak Oil will change how we grow food and its cost. It will change transport of food and materials. It’s already happening! With our humongous 312 million population, it will be interesting to see if we can afford to eat or if we can grow enough food TO eat.

As oil prices rise, we will see more starvation around the world—currently at 18 million humans annually. We can expect 30 to 40 million human beings starving to death annually by mid century if not more.

We humans have gotten themselves into a heck of a conundrum on many levels.

Within the next 20 years, Americans, if they continue accepting relentless immigration, will see an added 50 to 60 million immigrants on top of another 20 million their (our) own citizens. That means another 60 to 75 million human beings will be competing for jobs, water, food and energy to keep warm and feed themselves.

Anybody scratching their noggins right about now? Getting a little nervous for your kids? Concerned about their fate? What about the rest of the planet? Ever hear of the phrase, “I want to give my kids a better life than I had.â€

did you know the US has more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia? and 2 other mid east countries combined.

problem is the dems won't let us get it.

As long as there is one drop of oil in the earth there will never be
another main source of energy. But the second we burn that last drop you can be they will have the next energy source ready to go.

There was a time of no gasoline , in the 1800s the main source of power
that started our mechanized age was coal.
They had no concept of modern cars , sure there were a few hybrids but until Henry Ford stated to pump them out cheap , it was mainly a high priced luxury

400 million barrels of oil a day? But how much of that is gasoline?
Do you know how many different chemicals come from crude ? how many different products, Just a hint , every piece of plastic , most synthetic clothing (rayon, polyester , etc) even the trays your meat comes in from the supermarket is a product of oil .

Only a very small percent is actually made into gasoline

If your interested

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum

6. Your ideas?

I've always line dried ouir clothes when weather permits it.

Also, get your kids used to taking fast showers. Mine want to "luxuriate" in the shower and I have to ride them to hurry up and be out asap.

Wooldridge is the one who proved that "multiculturism" doesn't work. All it does is divide counties.

Originally Posted by Justthefacts

did you know the US has more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia? and 2 other mid east countries combined.

problem is the dems won't let us get it.

As long as there is one drop of oil in the earth there will never be
another main source of energy. But the second we burn that last drop you can be they will have the next energy source ready to go.

There was a time of no gasoline , in the 1800s the main source of power
that started our mechanized age was coal.
They had no concept of modern cars , sure there were a few hybrids but until Henry Ford stated to pump them out cheap , it was mainly a high priced luxury

400 million barrels of oil a day? But how much of that is gasoline?
Do you know how many different chemicals come from crude ? how many different products, Just a hint , every piece of plastic , most synthetic clothing (rayon, polyester , etc) even the trays your meat comes in from the supermarket is a product of oil .

Only a very small percent is actually made into gasoline

It's been said that we have 8 billion barrels of oil on reserve.

We had a "gas war" back in the 50's and 60's where certain people could only get gas on certain days, depending their license plate #.

Massive movement toward conservation of water, gasoline and resources. [quote:2l86br8w]Two cylinder cars,

electric cars, solar powered cars, etc. [/quote:2l86br8w]

Time to call Briggs and Stratton, Kohler and Onan. Not to mention Kawasaki and Honda.