2012 predictions: the more things change...

[Javaman]

http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2011-12-30/2012-predictions-more-things-change

First of all, I owe y'all an apology for the radio silence. Somehow this month I've felt a deep need for some quiet, rest and offlineness. It was quite an autumn here - it started with the destruction of Irene and Lee (and dealing with those disasters are still a major part of life in our community although they've faded from public focus), included the usual autumn and holiday rush, our usual sequence of family events and birthday parties (three kids have birthday in six weeks, right after the high holidays wind up), ASPO, my book, two foster placements and the loss of M., and the wind up of Eric's semester left us all just bone tired. I didn't plan to stay offline for two weeks, it just kind of happened while we celebrated Chanukah and Isaiah's 8th birthday, cleaned and organized, caught up on chunks of life that have been left aside and generally took some deep breaths. Several incredibly kind emails in the last week have gently inquired whether I was ok, and I do appreciate it - and I am.

In the last few days, I've found myself able to look ahead again - to think about spring and chickens, about seed catalogs and what to do to make our farm more deluge-proof and a host of other things. I've started turning my head forward, and looking out again - it was restorative to have a period of quiet, and thanks all for bearing with me.

Meanwhile, I'm back just in time to post my annual predictions, something I've been doing since 2006. Let me just preface this with the official annual predictions preface that I've included since I started doing this: "I don't think everything that comes out of my ass is the high truth, and neither should you. Remember what you are paying for this wisdom, and value it accordingly.

First, let's take a look at how I did last year:

1. First and foremost, I'm going to repeat my prediction in Peak Oil Review - I think 2011 is the year the food crisis comes back. We're already seeing signs of it, and I think that the number of world hungry will spike again to over a billion. Energy and food prices will remain tightly intertwined, and whether we see major price spikes, demand destruction and a collapse of energy prices, or whatever else, food and energy will be increasingly hard to afford for a large portion of the world population, from the very poorest to the American and European middle class. Food will be an important site of the emergence of our energy and ecological crisis.

More at link...

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These are always fun to read.