Lester Brown: The Planet's Scarcest Resource Is Time

[robertpaulsen]

Run time: 32:40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXVgTD2F6ZQ   Posted on YouTube: March 18, 2011 By YouTube Member: videonation Views on YouTube: 840   Posted on DU: March 24, 2011 By DU Member: robertpaulsen Views on DU: 414

 
I just found this at The Nation. Here is the accompanying text:

In this eleventh video in the series http://www.thenation.com/article/157434/peak-oil-and-changing-climate">“Peak Oil and a Changing Climate” from The Nation and On The Earth Productions, analyst, author and founder of the Earth Policy Institute Lester Brown discusses how unprepared the world really is for the growing effects of climate change. "Economists doing supply and demand projections are largely unaware" of the scale of the resource crises facing the world, Brown says, and "food is going to be the weak link for our civilization as it was for so many earlier civilizations."

Most importantly, Brown emphasizes, is that we find a way to stabilize the Earth's population, climate and aquifers, which help provide water to many people in the world. "Many resources are becoming scarce but none more scarce than time," Brown says, and confronting peak oil and climate change demands immediate action. Already, eighteen countries are overpumping their aquifers, and few realize that in the event of a crisis, the US food supply would run out in three days.

"We need a mobilization at wartime speed on a wartime scale. Just fine-tuning this situation is not going to do it," Brown says.

more...

http://www.thenation.com/video/159399/lester-brown-planets-scarcest-resource-time

[jwirr]

1. Kunstler's book "The Long Emergency" also talks about this. As

we move closer to these two events we are not paying attention. Kunstler and others talk about changes we need to make but we seem to be working on keeping the status quo.

One of the ideas is that no large systems we survive into the future. While we were fighting for teachers I kept thinking - how are we going to get from where we are to what is coming without a revolution? I think the fight for the unions is worth it because I see them helping us through the change - they work through group action so they have the means to see that we help each other.

What I am concerned about is how we take education, farming, manufacturing, social programs, etc. from what we have now to smaller local solutions? I do see some of this happening now but hardly enough to make a difference for most of the people.

We need to start talking and doing if we are going to be ready for what is coming. Especially since we are going to need the remaining oil or nuke power to transition to a new lifestyle.

[jwirr]

2. Quite obvious that this is an issue that no one else wants to talk about.

One of the big reasons this OP is so true.