A Planet in Crisis...

[VTXDave]

Hmm...rising costs in oil pushing people already on the edge into poverty. Heck, one of my techs that is the only breadwinner can't afford his propane bill any longer let alone put gas in his car to get to work. He had to make a decision, put food on the table or shut off the heat. He opted to shut off the heat. I'm sure he's not alone.

Now it's not only oil, but food. Transportation costs are skyrocketing. Another one of my techs has a Brother-in-Law that's a trucker. He was told that although the cost of diesel has gone up, the state has frozen how much a trucker can charge for transport. He makes less than $100 on a run from Sacramento to LA.

And food riots. Haiti's government recently fell due to rioting over food costs..
Haiti's government falls after food riots | International | Reuters

And in Yemen...
Food riots rock Yemen

From Mexico to Pakistan, protests have turned violent. Rioters tore through three cities in the West African nation of Burkina Faso last month, burning government buildings and looting stores. Days later in Cameroon, a taxi drivers' strike over fuel prices mutated into a massive protest about food prices, leaving around 20 people dead.

With food prices rising in the US, Costco and Sam's Club are now rationing how much rice a customer may purchase...
Sam's Club, Costco Limit Rice Purchases - Business on The Huffington Post

The move comes as U.S. rice futures hit a record high amid global food inflation...

Never in my life have I seen the situation like this. I witnessed the gas lines in the early 70's due to the oil embargo, but this is different.

Makes me wonder who's gonna light the fuse on this powder keg.

 

[VTXDave]

Here's an OpEd about the potential for violence in the US...
US Food Riots Much Closer Than You Think

[SIZE=+1] --So, basically, we have in place a recipe for a disaster that will dwarf any other localized disasters imaginable. The important thing to note is that there is no solution for this event. There is no contingency plan for this. People living in certain parts of the US will fare better than others (which is another story) but those who live in big cities, where most of the US population live, are done for.

[/SIZE]

 

[kronicsmurf]

Wow thats scary. I've been hearing a lot about the food crisis and it doesn't look like its going to get better anytime soon. I wonder why this just seemed to jump out of the blue? i mean i know that the economy is bad not only our country but other countries as well and everyone knows that food prices has risen but i never dreamed of a food shortage. i don't know what the hells gonna happen but dammit this country better as well as other countries better be thinking of a way broaden agriculture. fuck corn for fuel how about some damn corn for food? rice is being limited in the amount you can purchase at discount warehouses.whats next.

 

[VTXDave]

This is the stuff that we've only watched in "post apocalyptic" sci-fi movies of 20-30 years ago coming home to roost. What's next? More people will be driven below the poverty level thus raising the bar in unrest across the globe.

You know that old Chinese adage "May you live in interesting times"?....It was a curse. IMO, we are indeed entering a time that will be at the very least....ummm...interesting.

 

[VTXDave]

Oh yeah, one more thing...
I've even noticed the rising costs in food. I shop at a discount grocery chain (Cost-Less Food Company) and my grocery bill has gone up approximately 25% from 6 months ago. My propane bill has increased an easy 100% from one year ago. It's even hurting us.

 

[VTXDave]

Anyone else have any thoughts on this? Anyone else feeling "the pinch" in their grocery bill(s)? Anyone wanna venture if we'll see rioting in the US?

 

[growingmom]

Food is picnhing a lil..but GAS is just killin our funds...how the hell ya gonna make any money if ya can't afford to get to work??? I have 2 kids in college..and the feds are killin us in student loan intrest also..but whatda ya do?? tell your kids who have less than a year to go..that ya just can't help them finish?? and they get NOTHING for free..as far as grants. Everything has to be paid back..with intrest..

 

[medicineman]

It's a double edged sword. The commodities are running out and the jobs needed to buy them are leaving also. The elites are banging us with a double barrel shotgun. You may not believe this, but, there are people on this site that think Global warming is a hoax, especially mans involvement. They believe that all this warming is a natural occurence that will subside like the ebb and flow of the tide.. I guess their eyeglasses are a little off, as they can't see the ice caps dissapearing, the glaciers melting, and temperatures rising.. Or the forests dissapearing, the animal and plant species dissapearing at alarming rates. The composite ignorance of mankind knows no bounds.. I guess when the price of fuel reaches meltdown, we'll have to stop driving and then the greenhouse gasses will subside. I am driving less, I try and route my driving before I leave the house to conserve as much as I can.

 

[ViRedd]

I have some thoughts on the issue:

Food prices follow gasoline prices. The more we have to pay for gasoline, the more we will have to pay for our food.

All food products have to be shipped using fuel. This includes grain shipped to the cattle yards and food stuffs being shipped to market. The consumer must ultimately absorb the costs in the end purchase or the source will dry up. It wouldn't pay to produce and ship at a loss, right?

Now then, why are oil prices skyrocketing? Because of demand. As the once underdeveloped countries come on board the affluence train, their consumption of oil is increasing rapidly. Think China and India with billions of people all wanting the better life. That better life includes more efficient transportation using internal combustion engines.

We are dependent upon foreign oil for our supplies.

Now think back into the 60s and 70s. Remember those Birkenstock wearing, so-called environmentalists who chained themselves to the gates of the nuclear plants under construction? Remember the "environmentalists" who put the kibosh to refinery construction? Remember the "environmentalists" who stopped off-shore drilling? Remember the "environmentalists" who stopped drilling in Anwar?

Now then, turn your attention to the Corn Lobby. Because of the Corn Lobby and our congress, we are subsidizing the corn growers at the expense of wheat and rice ... and using our food (corn) for fuel instead of human consumption. Approximately 30 percent of our corn production is going to ethanol production. Have you ever seen ethanol in a gas station? I haven't ... so where is it going?

How stupid is an environmental policy that encourages a society to burn it's food for fuel? How stupid are the American People for putting up with this shit?

The time has come for MEN and WOMEN to stand their ground against the bullshit. The time has come to build refineries, drill off-shore and in Anwar. The time is LONG past due to convert our power over to nuclear energy.

The time has come to see radical environmentalism for exactly what it is ... nothing more than a money-making, power-grabbing scam, to the detriment of American society at large.

Vi

 

[medicineman]

The time has come to see radical environmentalism for exactly what it is ... nothing more than a money-making, power-grabbing scam, to the detriment of American society at large.

Are you for real. Did you even see the movie "an inconvient truth" or are you just sitting in your closet bitching about the impending meltdown that really isn't mans fault. Hey, as long as you can have lights, gas and comfort, fuck the world, right Vi?

 

[kronicsmurf]

The government needs to seriously consider putting a cap on fuel prices. and yeah my family is feeling the pinch we aren't rich to begin with and if the food prices and the fuel prices continue to rise then we will fall below the poverty level. looks like our stimulus checks aren't gonna take us very far either. your right Dave that old proverb does seem like a curse. up until now my income + my sisters income was just enough for us to live comfortably now things are looking very bleak indeed.

 

[medicineman]

Fuel prices are affecting everything. Airlines are going belly up, trucking companies are folding, the price of goods is going through the roof. This regime, The repuke Bush regime, has fucked this country and the world beyond belief, and some of you want to vote for McCain, Priceless.

 

[kronicsmurf]

How anyone could vote for McCain is beyond me!!!

 

[ViRedd]

Inconvient Truth? ... After seeing Michael Moore's 9-11 movie, I no longer patronize Left-Wing, cut & paste propaganda films.

And KronicSmurf said this:

"The government needs to seriously consider putting a cap on fuel prices."

With all due respect, KS .... are you fucking nutz!?

Price controls create shortages where ever and when ever they've been tried. Now that food prices are rising like crazy, would you put a cap on food prices as well? If so, you either haven't studied history ... and/or you relish the thought starving to death.

Vi

 

[kronicsmurf]

Shortages? you mean more than we are seeing now?and i do not subscribe to michael moores garbage he and ann coulter may seem like opposites to most but i see them as being of the same ilk. Peace

 

[ViRedd]

Shortages? you mean more than we are seeing now?and i do not subscribe to michael moores garbage he and ann coulter may seem like opposites to most but i see them as being of the same ilk. Peace

There are no gasoline shortages in this country. Expensive, yes ... but no shortages. Put a cap on gasoline prices and we will be back to the Jimmy Carter era of gas lines ... three times around the block.

Vi

 

[kronicsmurf]

ha wait until the next big hurricane and there will be lines anyway. just like there was after katrina.

 

[medicineman]

Inconvient Truth? ... After seeing Michael Moore's 9-11 movie, I no longer patronize Left-Wing, cut & paste propaganda films.

And KronicSmurf said this:

"The government needs to seriously consider putting a cap on fuel prices."

With all due respect, KS .... are you fucking nutz!?

Price controls create shortages where ever and when ever they've been tried. Now that food prices are rising like crazy, would you put a cap on food prices as well? If so, you either haven't studied history ... and/or you relish the thought starving to death.

Vi

You are crazy. The only solution is to cap fuel prices and food prices. Drive the insane corn fuel off the market, and set tarrifs on imports to Keep corps. from leaving. Control is not the problem it is the kind of control that is the problem, or lack thereof. All one has to do is look at the price gouging going on by the oil companies to realize that there are controls needed. The extra billions the oil companies are making are bankrupting millions of citizens. What are the priorities, Corporations or citizens? That is the question.

 

[VTXDave]

You are crazy. The only solution is to cap fuel prices and food prices. Drive the insane corn fuel off the market, and set tarrifs on imports to Keep corps. from leaving. Control is not the problem it is the kind of control that is the problem, or lack thereof. All one has to do is look at the price gouging going on by the oil companies to realize that there are controls needed. The extra billions the oil companies are making are bankrupting millions of citizens. What are the priorities, Corporations or citizens? That is the question.

That's the spirit! I want government intervention in all aspects of my life, society, the economy! Need something done right? Need it fixed? Have the government fix it!

MM...This situation is fucked up because of the government. How do you think our illustrious and honorable elected officials, along with their collective infinite wisdom, are going to fix it? Is your man going to serve the people? He's already proven that he is capable of earmarking funds to suit the needs of special interests, yes?

 

[VTXDave]

You are crazy. The only solution is to cap fuel prices and food prices. Drive the insane corn fuel off the market,

Wasn't it government intervention that created subsidies for corn fuel? Tom Daschle anyone?

and set tarrifs on imports to Keep corps. from leaving.

NAFTA

Control is not the problem it is the kind of control that is the problem, or lack thereof.

Lack thereof? I would agree with the kind of control being the problem...it's the government. A unhindered free market hasn't seen the light of day in this country for over 100 years.

What are the priorities, Corporations or citizens? That is the question.

Have you asked that question of your representatives?