Shane Simonsen: The End of Cheap Energy, is Mad Max Our Future?
Apr 10, 2024
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Shane Simonsen discusses the impact of resource depletion on society and the economy, global power dynamics, the future of energy sources, and potential scenarios of a resource-scarce world. The conversation dives into pandemic conspiracies, warfare implications of energy scarcity, and the role of biological technology in shaping future civilizations.
Modern society faces complexity and sustainability challenges due to depleting coal and oil resources.
Techno-authoritarianism may arise as society transitions with implications for global energy use.
Cultural resilience and regional power structures could emerge post-elite control breakdown.
Deep dives
Industrialization and Resource Depletion
The guest highlights the significance of industrialization built on a resource base of cheap and energetically profitable coal and oil. Concerns are raised about the future depletion of resources impacting modern society's complexity and sustainability.
Technological Shifts and Energy Consumption
The discussion delves into the potential transition towards techno-authoritarianism and the impact of shifting technological advancements on society. The idea of substituting higher quality resources with cheaper alternatives raises questions about global energy use and infrastructure challenges.
Complexity of Civilization and Societal Fragmentation
The conversation explores the design of modern civilization to break individuals into manageable units for system benefit. Insights are shared on potential regional power structures emerging post-elite control breakdown and the role of cultural resilience during societal collapses.
Technological Evolution in Warfare
The podcast discusses how warfare has evolved from World War II to the present, highlighting the diminishing ability for mass industrialized warfare due to challenges in supplying conventional missiles, contrasting the advancement in other war technologies like biotechnology and drones. It emphasizes how the advances in biotechnology, specifically mRNA vaccines, could potentially alter biotechnological warfare dynamics by allowing for the creation of new pathogens and rapid vaccine responses, potentially leading to the use of bioweapons in conflict settings.
Future Agricultural Resilience and Innovation
The episode explores the significance of crop genetics and agricultural innovation in preparing for a resource-limited future. It delves into the importance of identifying and domesticating new staple crops, leveraging modern technology and global connectivity to access diverse genetic resources and revitalize local agricultural practices. The discussion emphasizes the historical impact of staple crops like wheat, corn, and rice on shaping civilizations and underscores the potential for developing novel food sources to sustain future communities in a changing world.
Shane Simonsen discusses the energy crisis and how industrialization was built on the resource base of cheap coal and oil whose quality and quantity is depleting which will affect the complexity of modern society and exacerbate economic and political issues. The elites are dealing with a changing resource base they're struggling to manage and they have a lot less power than we imagine. The real power lays with global multinational corporations who have co-opted nations and political parties. The loss of modern conveniences should see us move back to a more community-oriented setting. We're headed into an era of techno-authoritarianism but at some point that technology will fail. The real trouble is when elites start turning on each other. The future of warfare and society could be biotechnological.
Watch on BitChute / Brighteon / Rokfin / Rumble / Substack
Geopolitics & Empire · Shane Simonsen: The End of Cheap Energy, is Mad Max Our Future? #415
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Shane Simonsen Websites
Substack https://zeroinputagriculture.substack.com
Going to Seed Podcast https://rss.com/podcasts/goingtoseed
Haldane B. Doyle https://haldanebdoyle.com
About Dr. Shane Simonsen
Shane Simonsen grew up in subtropical Australia as a biology obsessed nerdling, consorting with blue tongue lizards, breeding mantis shrimps and molesting octopi when he wasn’t cultivating rare succulents and carnivorous plants.
He trained as a research biochemist, then made just enough money to retire before middle age to his experimental farm. There he works hard to develop novel and orphan crops that rely on zero inputs, including domesticating a staple tree crop from the Jurassic. He blogs regularly on this work at Zero Input Agriculture on Substack (or see older Zero Input Agriculture posts here) and will write a book about it someday.
Apart from farming he finds time to imagine the distant post-industrial future, creating fictional worlds that could quite possibly come to exist (though hopefully with less heart-slicing drama). His style of hard science fiction relies on extensive research into real research.
Sci-fi fans are tired of apocalypses. Star-trek futures have slipped out of reach. That just means it’s time to imagine a future that’s both realistic and inspiring instead.
*Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)
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