My first obligation is to credit Brian Bloom as his series published at 321energy for the spark that triggered my spontaneous thoughts and drive this posting. Brian’s work is a series of 5 articles (6th reported to be coming, and I’m not waiting for it to review) in series starting at:

http://www.321energy.com/editorials/bloom/bloom081507.html

I have some strong recommendations for investors, writers, policy makers, journalists and business leaders who may be thinking or thought of as information sources to carefully examine Brian’s ideas, adopt the parts you find useful and become certain one is leading the discourse rather than misleading public thought.

The main point I wish to cover here is Brian’s observation that the main driver behind the modern world is in fact, fossil fuel. As he correctly notes, coal became available about 300 years ago followed by oil, and natural gas. As these foundation walls of the world economy gradually dwindle into higher and higher priced commodities the tipping point of being foundation walls appears then to becoming a burden in maintaining an ever more costly standard of living across a third of the world’s population. Many people won’t be able to keep up and that fact and the two thirds left behind yet to this day presents a serious social, cultural, economic and governmental problem. When Walmart’s customers feel such pain that it shows up in the company’s quarterly report as it did Monday August 13th, we better be concerned.

Brian recalls the analogy of the buck and the wolves where the wolves eat bucks until the bucks diminish and the wolves in turn diminish, too. Then the bucks repopulate, followed on by repopulating the wolves in an endless cycle. Compared to the human economic cycle starting with coal some 300 years ago to the current price/utilization point of fossil fuels the cycle can only be in decline. The consequence that has already started will be ever fewer and fewer people than now able to afford our richly fueled living standards. The question is, what is mankind’s answer to “repopulating” low cost energy and fuel supplies?

As one works through the discussion one may well argue the means for making the case, disagree about the conclusions, and yet, the hard fact that the cheap fossil fuel era is near its tipping point and the prospects for the over fall can come not only from political effects, climate change, financial machinations, or simply human greed for money or more dangerously, from human lust for power. There is undoubtedly a great deal of risk out there.

As one who hopes his ideas have an effect on information and its quality I found many points along the way of Brian’s discussion in agreement with my own. I must agree that using CO2 as a motive or measure for policy is a grave error of dramatic possible consequences. We seem to share the notion that the point of commerce and policy should be to encourage and supply an ever-improving standard of living for everyone on earth in an endless upward spiral. I particularly agree with his thoughts on the issue he identifies as “making money vs. creating wealth.” The discussion is as lucid as any in recent memory and is replete with graphs and tables. I just reserve the agreement to lay so much on the central bankers alone, as they are much more controlled and pressured by politicians than most people realize.

A great deal of blame lies in America’s quiet lust for “making money” where great monetary wealth made in mature and conformist businesses is more socially valued than creative productive asset wealth made from creativity, innovation, research and development. It’s a social thing we will all regret someday. The pendulum has swung much to far in favoring the quarterly profit over the investment in research and development. When looking at an annual report it can be hard to find the items disclosing the research investment if they are there at all. But as Brian points out with the debt burdens of the US federal, state, local, business, and personal entities added together its easy to see how the motive to get money for servicing those debts over rides any sensible plan for running and building a personal life, not even to consider a business, national economy or governments packed to overflowing with obligations to entitled persons.

I sense that Brian’s series is quite important. As my readers, the linked group, and I all share an entrepreneurial quality we can pretty much agree with Brian at the second half of his Summary and Conclusions in part 5. The observation that we’re consuming the profit rather than using it for intense research and development is more true than false.

It’s with some anticipation I look forward to part 6. Perhaps it will offer up Brian’s ideas about where the future investments might be.

I understand that as the oil companies look at the oil reserve replacement costs and the processing installation expenses needed to substitute for current production they can put some money into wind, solar and other means to secure product for future sales.

Time might see the oil companies evolve into energy and fuel companies. There is a lot of incentive and we need to be looking at how our public policy could encourage and enable these firms to make the jump. After all, when one looks at the corporate net incomes available for research and development the free world’s energy (oil) companies are who have the management and financial resources.

It remains up to the readers and the fascinating people I report about and review here to come up with the ideas, creations, innovations, and combinations that become an understandable path and roadmap to creating wealth and in turn making money. It really is up to you out there. Politicians, business leaders, journalists are professional at what they do. Those professions just don’t include the skill set to create the wealth making ideas or figure out how to get there. That’s up to you.


Comments

6 Comments so far

  1. Curtis Tanaka on May 26, 2011 9:36 AM

    Interesting read, perhaps the best article iv’e browse today. We learn everyday cheers to you!

  2. Mertie Norwell on September 7, 2011 6:11 PM

    I would like to say “wow” what a inspiring post. This is really great. Keep doing what you’re doing!!

  3. Pattie Dampier on September 12, 2011 6:00 PM

    This post makes a lot of sense !

  4. Isis Biehl on September 19, 2011 8:18 PM

    Good! Thank you! I always wanted to write in my site something like that. Can I take part of your post to my blog?

  5. Stacia Aipopo on September 21, 2011 6:09 PM

    I REALLY liked your post and blog! It took me a minute bit to find your site…but I bookmarked it. Would you mind if I posted a link back to your post?

  6. Tanisha Doescher on October 10, 2011 6:06 PM

    Thanks for posting. Good to see that not everyone is using RSS feeds to build their blogs 😉

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