hhmmmmmm.   but didn't the gold standard help drive us into a depression because the gov couldn't print money to help the deflation that caused the depression?

so now I am torn.  I want the law so as to help bitcoin...  but dont want the law because any economist will tell you that the gold standard hurts economies.

So, you failed to address that your 'alternatives' are a delusion, and also failed to address the fact that there is no way to produce those 'more expensive synthetics' while also producing food to sustain us.

Goddamn, you're retarded.

Corn is your solution? Do you have any idea what monoculture does to the environment? Learn something about agriculture and ecology and then come back and have a real conversation. Look into some material science as well...bioplastics are not a replacement for petro-plastics. There is not enough water and space on this whole goddamn planet to grow enough corn to synthesize a month's worth of plastic. How do you plan on powering that extremely energy intensive process?

Wood - not a substitute for rigid or rubberized plastic. How many wooden plumbing systems have you seen?
Glass - also not a substitute for plastic. Again...material science, son. You can make windows and bongs and kitchenware with glass...that's about it.

You seem to have very little understanding of the industrialized world. Perhaps you are in an internet cafe in Ethiopia, but I doubt it. Being a 14-year-old who has it all figured out is a much more likely culprit.

So, how about plastics?

Ecosystems. Air. Water.

Plastic.

Hey we don't all live in areas with Gigabits of Internet just laying around I'm running off out in the middle of the woods. My point was mainly for those who don't actively forward ports......

Are you serious? Read The Future of Life by Edward O. Wilson and get back to me.

In a nutshell, deforestation is quite possibly the most threatening and destructive process that has ever occurred on this planet, short of the asteroid which killed the dinosaurs. Basically, the Earth's natural processes are analogous to an extraordinarily efficient factory which sustains all of us. It begins with the microscopic organisms in the soil which recycle everything. Their presence is dependent on the environment, beginning with the top level predators, whose presence is dependent on old growth forests, and cause the trophic cascades which trickle all the way down to the microscopic level.

You have no idea what oil does, do you? It's EVERYWHERE. Shampoo? All oil, from the content to the bottle. Computers, houses,cars, food, medicine? Significant portion of oil there too. I hope you're not attached to your current lifestyle because it will change significantly.

Yes, I know oil won't be completely depleted, but it will be too expensive to use for everyday applications and people.

It doesn't work that way. Planting trees requires huge expanses of land. Where are you going to plant them? Areas deforested for agriculture? Or areas deforested for the production of palm oil? Or areas deforested for civilization? Or areas deforested for lumber? Obviously, only the fourth one makes sense. So what does that get us? It gets us less trees than we already had, and furthermore, it does not address the incredible attrition of biodiversity from destroying the old growth forests. Also, tree farms used for lumber, when actually used for lumber, obviously require rotation, thus creating blank spots undergoing new planting.

How where you "given" the games? Just a basic answer would be helpful.

Do you believe everything you write? To begin with, who do you think drives consumer desires? The corporations do! Their marketing departments. And their design departments, which focus on what's cool - they create needs in the public consumer. As for smaller companies starting up - they are starting up, despite the fact that you think regulations are preventing them from starting up. Witness Tesla, Aptera, Local Motors and Fisker Automotive. And among those four, three of them make very efficient cars, yet we're not seeing the big automakers being challenged by them, are we? That's three points against what you've said.

By regulations, you must be thinking of things like safety for workers in the plants, permits, and so on. Sure, those are part of regulations, but you've either conveniently left out other types of regulations, or have failed to imagine them. Let's strike another point against your argument above: you claim that the poorer safety and efficiency of larger automobiles would be challenged by competition - but what exactly is encouraging auto manufacturers to create efficient and safe automobiles today? How about mandates from the government?

Now, let's move on to oil extraction. Guess what happens when oil prices go up? Does everyone start driving super efficient automobiles overnight? No. What really happens is the management of big oil grows huge fucking smiles on their faces. They ramp up their lobbying effort, their drilling effort, and perhaps even the efficiency of their drilling efforts, and certainly their efforts at discovering oil in the ground. They create a frenzy among the public to chant "drill, baby, drill!". They lobby for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be opened up, and put politicians on the spot. Through their efforts, they manage to squeeze more oil out of the ground, while simultaneously, the economy takes a hit, oil prices take a mild hit, the public breathes a mild sigh of relief after being conditioned to higher oil prices, the oil companies post record revenue and profits, and the auto manufacturers continue to create a need amongst the buying public for automobiles which get at best around 30MPG, because the public believes that must be reasonable and acceptable.

Now the government is put on the spot when environmentalists insist that regulations which would demand a huge increase in fuel economy are needed, because the public has been hit over the head by the oil companies and the brownlashers with propaganda, all the while being psychologically manipulated by the auto makers that big expensive glitzy gas guzzlers are the ticket to showcasing your success in life. The cycle repeats.

That's the free market for you.

What's possible, physically? Volkswagen, a rarity among the auto world, has demonstrated that their XL1 gets 260MPG. The concept is simple: build it aerodynamic and lightweight. By being lightweight, you can also have skinnier tires which will get you the same traction as fatter tires on a heavier auto - this means less road friction as well.

The government needs to mandate much higher efficiency then they have been. Much higher. It needs to happen now. Clearly Volkswagen is demonstrating what is really possible. Auto manufacturers need to stop creating a need in the public for big and inefficient, and suck it up as per extreme regulation via the government, but the government is too weak to actually mandate such standards, because big oil just loves high oil prices.

And the primary reason big oil loves high oil prices? Because management wants to make as much money before they retire, at the expense of every thing else.

So, let's just continue down that path. Suck the oil out of the ground as fast as possible, destroy the environment in the process, deplete the oil resources left, burn it, and put all that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Perhaps we should take a poll?

Long form birth certificate, please.

Having my forum account "hacked" (which theymos does not believe has happened to anyone because everyone changed their passwords too fast) cannot be related to mtgox getting hacked. I use two different passwords if the op post wasn't clear by the use of the word unique.