Dungeons and Dragons, Anyone?

James Hamilton establishes a good foundation to attribute the Run-up in Commodity Prices to the low interest rates and loose money of the Federal Reserve. Paul Krugman, on the other hand, suspicions that Commodity extraction is actually very strained, and We are reaching Peak Commodity extraction points. David Beckworth forwards the View that Innovation will see Us past any Commodity shortage. I tend to adopt the gloomy Outlook that We are at the Dawn of a Civilization Decline. Civilizations are always based upon some format of economic conditions, producing a exact industrial base to exploit the advantages of Resources found in the area, or in Time. Civilizations have always fallen when there has been an impactive loss of the initial Resources, if there has not been diligent and sufficient Innovation to replace the Resources lost.

Modern Civilization revolves upon Goods production and Transportation. The United States was substantively organized in the context that the venue for Transportation utilized for Migration West was insufficient for the Transport of produced Goods back East, or to Europe. American Farmers in the old Northwest needed the River system to transfer Goods for Sale from their Production center. The River system through New Orleans had to be taken to forestall imposition of disadvantageous Tariffs, and the American Indian tribes had to be moved West of the Mississippi. The Gold and other Metals of the West could not be transported to the East without Railroads; for that We needed sovereignty over the land, and settlement of that land. Overpopulation insisted that horses be moved out of the Cities, and We were Saved by the invention of Cars–not of singular design conceived by any one Individual. The Conversion, though, created great dependence upon fossil fuels; forms of specific order to be readily acceptable for propulsion. We are at a critical Point now, even if equal amounts of Oil can be pumped for the next few Centuries; such Point compelled by the monetary and Energy Cost of extracting the Oil necessary.

The Student should realize the fundamental underpinning beneath the entire Discussion of Innovation: any Replacement system must be as economically efficient as the replaced system, else the additional economic Costs will erode the current economic position which We enjoy. The Energy system must be unitary in nature; i.e., it must be able to be integrated into a Whole supply of the necessary requirements, otherwise, It will be too costly and Labor consumptive. It must supply all the basic Needs without being an expensive system to operate. It must also satisfy environmental needs as well as Production needs. The Solution is bound to be exotic in comparison with current operating systems. I myself am personally contemplating altering the genetic structure of Plants, allowing them to generate solar energy through their leaf systems, and store Energy by Plant trunk storage system; Energy drain to be accomplished through a uniform Root system throughout the field or forest. Do I sound like a Nutcase? lgl