Such a waste . . .

[berkeley]

I'm not an opera/classical snob, but today my XM radio ended up in a channel with an amazing Italian tenor singing an opera piece with a celestial orchestral accompaniment.  The beauty and passion and depth of human experience sent shivers down my spine. 

This piece was the result of probably over one hundred talented musicians converging together, in one time and place, in the expression of something which testifies to how much our species can feel, understand, and what we hold dear.  It's also representative of the human legacy of growing together and breathing life into something incredibly complex and beautiful. 

It is such a waste to think about how we COULD have a chance at a Powerdown scenario, saving some of the best parts of our civilization, if people truly worked together.  Yet, TPTB seem absolutley set on a course of domination, extraction, exploitation, control and all-consuming Hubris - a path that will lead to the worst outcome for those of us who treasure peaceful life. 

There is so much worth saving, so many children with bright and innocent eyes and hearts full of love.  Adults have learned, come together and achieved wonderful things.  It is such a waste to think some psychopathic Powers delight in taking us forcefully into oblivion.   

I hope I'm very wrong.      

It would be such a waste . . .

[houseoftang]

We'll still have great music PPO, unless we die off as a species.  Most of the instruments they were playing were probably built pre-oil age.  It just won't be recorded, or recorded as easily, and won't likely be broadcast in digital quality. 

I'm with you hoping we have something left, especially the knowledge base we've accumulated.  I wonder if anyone's worked on a crash-proof library with much of our learning in it?  Maybe university libraries are as close as we can get.

[DaveEngland]

yeah i pretty much agree with you. McMansionism and SUV diving is the biggest, piss ass waste of oil and resources.

[Dennis from Oregon]

Thats a good point Tang..

When it all comes down no one will be able to access the electronic data and the acids in modern books give them a 100 year shelf life tops..

My bet is it will ALL be lost in 2 or 3 generations..

[zigspider]

Read 'Earth Abides' - What use will libraries be when there is no-one there able to read ! 2-3 generations on after a hard crash, even though books may be available, there will be few if any with the ability to retrieve the information available.

In a worst case scenario, how many people working does it take to allow the leisure of learning to read and write for some?

[podunkinak]

  art has always found some form of expresion within the human race , it is only the medium that has become more sophisticated.  The end of oil does not mean the end of art , just the end of some mediums( rock concerts with huge speakers and lights fireworks....)

   People will still have their voices.

[SabreKai]

Read 'Earth Abides' - What use will libraries be when there is no-one there able to read ! 2-3 generations on after a hard crash, even though books may be available, there will be few if any with the ability to retrieve the information available.

In a worst case scenario, how many people working does it take to allow the leisure of learning to read and write for some?

I've read it, and you are right about the problem of no one knowing how to read or write. But if an effort is put into teaching them they will learn. Thats one of the reasons why you don't turn out your elderly into the snow when they can't work hard anymore. You put them to work teaching and babysittin and knitting and doing all those other low energy things that the oldsters can do and you keep them around and revere them cause they still have knowledge and still have something to contribute to keeping a community together and alive.

Sabre

[podunkinak]

  In a worse case scenario the ability to read may not be a luxery but a great honor and responsibilty to safeguard and retreive information when needed, or to teach others as the conditions permit.  Many pioneer children were taught to read with one or two books kept by the family, most notable being the bible.  It seems reasonable that similar conditions could facilitate the preservation of learning. I intend to teach my children in the abscence of formal education.

[OldHorseman]

   Note that when Dickens toured America in the 1800s, long before the Oil Age and the government institutional public school system, he remarked on how widespread literacy was among Americans, with farmers and simple laborers being able to read and write very well.

   Look at the surviving letters from the wagon trains, War Between the States, and pre-industrial America in general.  Compare them to the blog postings from many college graduates today.

   The notion that it takes a huge, expensive government system to educate people is one of the key myths used to undermine America over the last century or so.

[Chip Haynes]

Peak Oil & The Crash has always been a "good news, bad news" a sort of thing. Good news: All of Beethoven's symphonies can be performed without oil. Bad news: So can Wagner's operas.

 

That said, it would be nice to think that reading- good, old-fashioned sit down with a book reading- might make a come back in a slower, quieter post oil world.

One can only hope.