Post #2052298

2026-05-05 20:24 UTC

I am saying this with deep love but so many of you are living deep with your heads in the sand about the actual state our civilization is in. We are spending more energy on energy extraction each year *than we get back* - we crossed that threshold in 2018. Net oil extraction finally tipped towrad decline in 2024. Last year, for every 100 calorie of food we got out of our agriculture system, we had to spend 112 calories of oil energy. By 2050 we're expected to put more than half of our energy use into energy production. The *ONLY* route that is not an absolutely delusional path is that of immediate extreme energy cuts: EXTREME degrowth, taken immediately by the peoples whom are currently consuming that energy. And this will require an immediate cessation of operations of a significant portion of the current systems with which people are not just getting by, but are actively asking for more of: more transport (so we can phase out cars), more this (so we can phase out that). Get rid of the that first. It's the only way. Do it now.

Replies (1)

@BigHeadMode@social.linux.pizza 2026-05-06 01:09

@emsenn@kolektiva.social >We are spending more energy on energy extraction each year *than we get back* Source? I found [1] and [2]. In this thread, you're saying if X is total energy cost of making and using renewables, and Y is total energy received from renewables, X > Y Solar and wind are near stone age technology. Our versions of them are (far?) more advanced, but you can put a rock outside or put a windmill up and collect *some* latent energy. If we made the true ecological, human, generational, etc. cost of life incurred by the user, the problem would fix itself. Whether that's a carbon tax or a complete end of capitalism. Energy consumption is going up because energy use is cheap in dollars. 1: https://www.resilience.org/stories/2024-04-15/the-oil-crash-is-coming-sooner-than-we-think/ 2: https://overshoot.footprintnetwork.org/food-and-fossil-fuels/

Open ##2052297