THE NAKED OPTION: A LAST RESORT

I had the honor of being a part of this documentary film project, as a Research Consultant. In that role, I was able to draw upon my combined intellectual resources: academic/theoretical training in the political-economy of the petroleum production chain; in-depth knowledge of selected aspects of Africa area studies; combined with long-term, "on-the-ground" working experience in Nigeria.  It is indeed a pleasure to see that this film is set to premier this month (May 2011), in San Francisco, California.  

From the film's website: http://www.nakedoptionmovie.com/WordPress/about/about-the-film

Filming in the militarized zone of Nigeria poses significant risks. The film is shot guerilla in style, predominantly on the fly, using a handheld camera, natural light, and a limited crew of 1-2. The lack of electricity, inadequate lighting, constant noise, stifling heat, filthy air, and military presence are visual illustrations of the many physical constraints which are woven into the film to show the hurdles the women are up against.

Deeply rooted in the point of view of Niger Delta women, the film delivers a fresh and dramatic perspective on the situation in the Niger Delta as it affects them. Footage shot by Sam Olukoya, a Nigerian journalist, provides an intimate, candid, visual observation of the realities of daily life in these oil-soaked communities. Intercut with dramatic verité and archival footage; interviews with Nigerian activists, historians, and women’s leaders; facts and figures to support material; unique, and artful recreation drawings depicting the historic Women’s War of 1929 enhanced with After Effects, these elements combine to tell relay dramatic stories. Graphics and animation transport us into the Niger Delta, and powerful, affecting still images and news headlines with graphic applications combine to bring the stories to life.

The Purpose

The purpose of THE NAKED OPTION is to inspire women’s leadership globally; to create market pressures by educating women and men to question corporate responsibility; and to promote community action on a local and international level where women and men take collective action to make unprecedented change in their own communities and beyond.

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Africa and the Global Economic Crisis

Let me now return to a theme near and dear to my heart: political and economic development within the Continent of Africa. Since I first started working in Africa over 20 years ago, I have come to learn this: in order to understand some of what takes place within Africa, we must also transcend Africa’s geographic boundaries. By this I mean that Africa (and any of its individual states), like every other major region of the planet, is subject to global phenomena which aren’t necessarily isolated to one geographic point of origin.

The current global economic crisis is a perfect example of this.

This is a "global" phenomenon, which is currently (since post-WW II) propped up by what political economists call "dollar hegemony" (e.g., a system of post-colonial / neo-colonial control, wherein the dollar has been used to "buy influence" the world over). However, as Gramsci reminds us, in order for it to be most effective hegemony also requires the "consent of the ruled," and not simply the sheer "will of the rulers." Ergo, countries buy-in to the concept of dollar hegemony as long as their own ruling elites have something to gain by it; however, after benefits begin to outweigh costs for too much time, those some national elites begin to buy-out (e.g., dumping of dollars on world currency markets).

Once/if that happens, the great social experiment known as the United States of America will be finished (as a global hegemon, anyway). The name of the game, globally, and since the end of WW II at least, has been about propping up the value of the dollar. Remember: after the victory of WW II, the US was in a position to dictate how things would work in the global economy. The biggest issue: the most heavily traded commodity in the world--petroleum--was to be traded in US dollars, and US dollars only. In 2008, that process began to slowly change, as Euros have begun to be used for a few purchases, here and there, in the global economy. Most who have been following this trend anticipate that it will only grow.

Having said that, the still-larger issue here is the generalized, symbiotic relationship between the natural resource base and the economic base; and subsequent relationship between the economic base and the social-political base. The article below—from Inter-Press Service--is an excellent example of this.

One word of caution, focusing on the use and abuse of economic indicators. One paragraph within the article, speaking to Africa’s relative insulation form the economic crisis, reads as follows:

"Africa is expecting an average growth rate of six percent in 2009. However, the turmoil will affect those countries that depend on the export of commodities and natural resources."

As the great American writer Mark Twain once wrote (and I paraphrase), “A man standing in a bucket of boiling water with one foot, and a bucket of ice water with another foot, is ‘on average’ bathing in comfortable water.” Those Continental “average growth rates” that economist like to tout so much have to be disaggregated further; otherwise, they conceal vast income disparities between major resource exporters like South Africa and Nigeria on the one hand, their impoverished neighbors like Tanzania and Mali on the other hand.

Finally, “countries that depend on the export of commodities and natural resources” would be pretty much all of the countries of Africa! Development economics 101: the classical problem of so-called under-development is the problem of countries exporting raw, unprocessed, primary commodities. They do this precisely because they do not have the “heavy industry” to make refined products.

So, as you read the article below, consider the relationship between ecology, energy, and economics—the three E’s! Consider also, that this challenge is not restricted to Africa. Indeed, it is a global phenomenon, with local implications.

Dr. Blaine

***


ECONOMY:Global Crisis Should Spell End of Laissez-Faire Doctrine
CAPE TOWN, Oct 31 (IPS) - The real question to ask about the global financial crisis is whether ‘‘it will go deep enough for the big economies to realise that the market should be controlled more. The philosophy of laissez-faire simply does not work’’.

This is the viewpoint of Sampie Terreblanche, emeritus professor of Economics at South Africa’s University of Stellenbosch, speaking at a public debate on the crisis in Cape Town. The debate was organised by the Centre for Conflict Resolution, an organisation promoting conflict resolution in Africa through training and research. Terreblanche, who is the author of ‘‘A History of Inequality in South Africa 1652-2002’’, regards the crisis as ‘‘very serious. There is no doubt that it will persist for the next couple of years.

‘‘As a result of laissez-faire, the inequality within countries and between the rich north and poor south has increased,’’ Terreblanche added. ‘‘The economy needs to be guided and not be left to its own devices.’’ According to the doctrine of laissez-faire, meaning ‘‘to leave alone’’ in French, an economy functions most ‘‘efficiently’’ without any interference of the government.

While there are concerns with regards to financial stability and inflation, it seems so far that African countries will weather the financial crisis better than others. Africa is expecting an average growth rate of six percent in 2009. However, the turmoil will affect those countries that depend on the export of commodities and natural resources. ‘‘For the past years and up until recently, oil-producing countries like Nigeria and Angola have thrived due to the escalating oil prices,’’ Jorge Maia of the Industrial Development Cooperation (IDC) said at the debate on Oct 30.

This was ‘‘until recently’’ because of the significant drop in crude oil prices as a result of the global financial turmoil. The IDC is a South African state-owned development institution that finances businesses and aims to contribute to sustainable economic growth and economic empowerment.

Crude oil prices have plunged by 60 percent in the third quarter of 2008, from 147 dollars a barrel in July to around 60 dollars three months later. ‘‘Countries that rely on oil exports, such as Nigeria and Angola, are noticing the effects of this as this development means less income,’’ Maia continued. With a production of 1.9 million barrels per day, Angola recently replaced Nigeria as Africa’s largest oil producer. Since 2006, Nigeria saw a 25 percent decline from a daily oil production of 2.5 million barrels. This weakening is, among other factors, a result of attacks from militants in the Niger Delta.

Maia told IPS that South Africa, the strongest economy on the African continent, depends heavily on the export of commodities and is therefore also taking strain as a result of the financial turmoil. The main economic sector affected is the mining industry, which contributes six percent of South Africa’s annual gross domestic product (GDP). The most important export commodities are iron ore, coal, platinum and gold. ‘‘These four products make up 75 percent of South Africa’s mining export basket and the value of all but the first has gone down -- platinum in particular,’’ said Maia. Recent mining figures show that the platinum price dropped with 21 percent in the month of October 2008. Since March 2008, when platinum reached its record price of 2 308.80 dollars an ounce, the value of this precious metal has declined with 65 percent.

This poses a problem for South Africa which harbours 80 percent of global platinum reserves. Maia emphasised that the financial crisis is not the sole cause behind the slowdown in South Africa’s mining industry. Mining companies had to cut their production as, during the first half of 2008, South Africa was hit by an electricity crisis. The country’s electricity producer ESKOM was no longer able to meet the national demand for power. Apart from South Africa’s mining industry, the construction sector, manufacturing, and retail industry are also under pressure as a result of the global credit crisis. The currency has been hit as well. ‘‘The South African rand is very vulnerable at the moment.

Besides the Icelandic kroner, it is the currency that has depreciated the sharpest since the credit crisis hit the world,’’ Maia pointed out. All of this, combined with an increasing pessimism about the economy, may result in a deceleration of South Africa’s economic growth. An overall growth of 3.4 percent is expected for 2008, which earlier this year was anticipated to be around 5 percent. In 2009, the growth for South Africa will be around 2.5 percent, Maia gauged. The slowdown in Africa’s biggest economy will have an impact on the rest of the continent. ‘‘When South Africa struggles, the rest of Africa struggles,’’ he explained. Despite the severity of the turmoil, some countries might actually benefit from the declining commodity prices, Maia noted. ‘‘While exporting countries suffer, regions that rely on the import of natural resources such as oil benefit from these developments – simply because products such as oil have become cheaper.’’

Africa is also not doing badly compared to the North America and Europe. According to the International Monetary Fund’s Economic Outlook for 2009, the overall African economy is expected to grow with 6 percent the coming year. ‘‘The U.S. economy, on the other hand, barely comes below the zero percent mark.’’ Africa is faring better as it still benefits from investments from China. According to the World Bank, the amount of Chinese direct investment in Africa amounted to 1.18 billion dollars by mid-2006. (END/2008)

International Energy Agency Acknowledges Shortfalls in Petroleum Prodcution, Worldwide

The following is from the web site of the International Energy Agency (IEA), which is a sub-division of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD is the coordinating body that collects information and suggests policy and standards for the 30 or so wealthiest nations in the world. The IEA was formed by the OECD in the wake of the energy crisis of the 1970s. What follows are snippets, collected by the IEA, from the world press on the current global energy situation. It makes for an interesting read.

This information comes from . . .

http://www.iea.org/journalists/headlines.asp

Below each snippet topic is a brief comment from me. Happy reading!

Blaine

***

China Business Weekly, 01 December 2008 Era of Cheap Oil is Over

During a visit to Beijing to present the results of the World Energy Outlook 2008, IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka noted that the financial crisis is an appropriate time for China to develop clean energy and said that despite diving oil prices, “it is certain that while market imbalances will feed volatility, the era of cheap oil is over.”
===
COMMENT BY BLAINE: As usual, we must not get lost in the "Forest of Numbers," as displayed in daily market reports (e.g., as usually depicted on TV). We are dealing with a long-term trend, which is best measured in years and decades. Therefore, we must keep our eyes on the long-term trends in both pricing (after we factor in inflation) and availability (measured in either "barrels" or "tons" of oil). In spite of recent (downward) price fluctuations these past few weeks, energy "prices" are still trending upwards (since the turn of the century), in inverse relation to "availability," which is trending downwards.


The Australian, 26 November 2008 Call to Not Delay Greenhouse Measures

Attending the Clean Energy Council conference IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka urged countries such as Australia not to delay greenhouse measures due to the global financial crisis. "The global financial crisis should not delay measures to mitigate climate change because the cost will only get higher in the future," he said and warned oil prices could soar after the financial crisis and urged governments to spend some of their fiscal stimulus on renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
===
COMMENT BY BLAINE: Although the immediate topic here was "Australia," the basis for the discussion was rooted in "global" trends. We ignore such trends at our peril. What are the implications here for a "new economy?" How would we need to (re)tool our industrial base and (re)train our workforce, in the months/years to come? What are the economic and social justice implications here, if any? Who gains, who loses?


Wall Street Journal (Re: Africa), 22 October 2008

Asked about oil prospects in Africa, which are starting to look dimmer because of the credit crunch, geopolitical problems and price hikes, IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol sustained the idea that Africa’s days as a supplier of additional oil may be numbered. “We have benefited from additional oil volumes from Africa, but given the production profile of off-shore fields, we need to see significant new discoveries to sustain that trend”, he said and added, “it’s not clear that will happen.”
===
COMMENT BY BLAINE: As I've been saying for some time, Africa--long viewed as the last great refuge of concentrated energy supplies outside the Mid-East--may well have been over-hyped. The US foreign policy implications (as well as energy policy implications) are huge. Where will the US (or China or Japan or the UK) turn next? Please note that the situation with US domestic energy supplies is like Africa--only more so. We can still drill for (and still extract) more oil in the US, but only at tremendous cost now (i.e., economic, social, and environmental costs). And then? We could also lean more heavily on foreign sources. But what happens after the global spigot begins to run dry, when we can no longer economically extract oil from the ground, in many more parts of the world? [Hint: Part of the answer lies in the previous paragraph on Nobuo Tanaka’s comments to the Clean Energy Council.]


Arab Oil and Gas, 30 September 2008

On the occasion of the publication of the new IEA Natural Gas Market Review 2008, the Agency’s Head of the Energy Diversification Division Ian Cronshaw voiced his concerns about long-term world gas supplies. In an interview with Arab Oil and Gas he said that there was a “risk” that gas supply may not meet demand and added that, next to more investment, the main solutions were to “increase energy efficiency in the power sector (…), ensure a healthy degree of energy diversification and develop new gas projects, especially liquefied natural gas projects, which offer far greater flexibility.”
===
COMMENT BY BLAINE: Reading between the lines—“We have a serious problem here,” and “We’re not really sure of what to do about it, except to do a lot more of the same!” I’ve been following the energy policy statements of the IEA for a few years now, and that’s how I am interpreting these comments. Bear in mind that oil and natural gas are typically co-located in the same pockets, underneath the Earth’s surface. They are both non-renewable energy resources. They are both subject to depletion. Most peak oil advocates will tell you that natural gas depletion is only about a decade (two decades at most) behind oil. Then what? Much of our home heating (esp. in the northeast section of the US) comes from natural gas. That market cannot hold up much longer, after oil. We need a "Plan B," soon.

END

Shock, Denial and Anger: Talking about the Economic Impact of Peak Oil in the Black Community of Southern California

This blog article was not easy to write. It does not fit easily into one specific topic heading. It covers politics, economics, ecology, culture, and even psychology. It is being posted the day after the conclusion Senator Barak Obama’s historic presidential campaign. President-elect Obama has made a great achievement, and we should all wish him well. I say this, in part, because after the usual (abbreviated?) honeymoon period in early 2009, President Obama will face some of the most intractable economic problems facing any US president in living memory.

The most immediate problem is the US economy, in relation to the global economy. What most Americans have so far failed to realize is that—in the long-run—the domestic economy is a direct function of global “ecology.” It is a function of the Earth’s natural processes, which human beings occasionally harness for their own (political and economic) ends.

Most of us have been trained to think in terms of the overlapping domains of “The Market” and “Technology.” Both The Market and Technology have come to be viewed of the creators and saviors of so-called “modern” civilization. However, both The Market and Technology are based upon an ecological and environmental platform that has seldom been acknowledged in either the popular media or the academic media. Nowhere has this problem become more glaringly apparent than in the role of the natural resource oil, in relation to the global economy. And this is, in turn, is captured under the heading of “Peak Oil,” which has to do with dwindling oil supplies, worldwide.

What is Peak Oil?

Peak Oil doesn’t mean running out of all the oil in the world; it merely means running out of all the cheap oil—which is where we are today. Trying to make this idea clear can be tough, sometimes. Considering that neither “the market” nor “technology” will help replenish the Earth’s finite oil supply, Peak Oil is an especially tough issue. Finally, Peak Oil can be a tough sell in the Black community in particular, in terms of convincing some of our leaders of the gravity the current situation presents. Just a few months ago, in an important gathering by a prominent member of our own community here in the Los Angeles area, we were told that “energy and environmental issues are not ‘Black’ issues.” What could be inferred here is that David Miller (my collaborator on this issue) and Blaine Pope might spend their valuable time focusing on “more relevant issues,” like the price of food, housing, and health care in Los Angeles.

What the prominent community member failed to grasp was that the price of food, housing, and health care (along with most other commodities and services) are all directly related to energy prices in general, and world oil prices in particular. Our on-going challenge has been to help our people see that events in oil-producing countries like Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Venezuela (and even in the oil-producing regions of the United States) are directly related to the prices of every day goods in Los Angeles, and elsewhere in the State of California.

Shock, Denial, Anger: What Should We Do?

In the summer of 2008, we were “shocked” at the price of both gasoline and groceries. We have been in “denial” as to the root causes (with “Big Oil” conspiracy theories running rampant). And we continue to remain “angry” at a social, political, and economic system which remains at best insensitive to the needs of many of our most vulnerable citizens.

The first thing we have to do is understand. We must understand not only what is taking place around us, but also within us. Human psychology plays an important role. According to the late Dr. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, human beings will cover a gamut of emotions when confronted with a sudden and profound sense of loss. Many discussions of Peak Oil are often related to a sense of loss, of what we will have to give up. This process, or cycle, is often referred to as “The Grief Cycle.” Involves seven distinct emotional stages which can be broken down as follows[i]:

• Shock: Initial paralysis at hearing the bad news.
• Denial: Trying to avoid the inevitable (reality).
• Anger: Frustrated outpouring of bottled-up emotion.
• Bargaining: Seeking for a way out (often in vain).
• Depression: Final realization of the inevitable (reality).
• Testing: Seeking realistic solutions.
• Acceptance: Finally finding the way forward.

It is also not uncommon for people to move back and forth, between the various stages, in a meandering fashion (a la “three steps forward, two steps back”). This can happen for a while, until the sheer weight of either evidence” or “circumstance” forces the human mind into “acceptance.” As individual people can go through these stages, so can entire communities and societies.Our sense is that American society is now meandering between shock, denial, and anger—with the likes of the lame duck Bush Administration (and conservative media outlets like Fox News Corp.) cynically leading the charge, in both denial and anger over much of the past eight years. Most of us have not yet begun to approach even the bargaining and depression stages, let alone the testing and acceptance of our predicament.Work for Change: Fight the Power!The second thing that must be done is to get at the root of the problem.

The Root of the Problem

The real fight is not against some far off, illusive and shadowy figment called “Al Qaida.” The real fight is also not against so called “Big Oil,” either. The real fight starts with you, me, our relationship with our political leaders--and most importantly--our collective consumption habits. At roughly 4% to 5% of total world population, US citizens consume approximately 25% of the world’s petroleum every year.China, on the other hand, with almost 20% of the world’s population, presently consumes about 8% of world petroleum; moreover, the Chinese say that they are morally entitled to a corresponding 17% to 18% of world petroleum. Sounds fair, doesn’t it? The only problem is that there is not enough extra oil in the world to meet China’s stated or desired goals.

Some nations or regions of the world would have to give up their some of their access to oil. This global situation will likely be the source of much conflict in the near-term future—as region after region, and nation after nation, perhaps even city after city, will vie against one another in a scramble for what’s left in global petroleum reserve.Our main goal in the US should therefore be to efficiently and equitably “Power Down”—both globally and locally. We must learn to do with less and “live normally”, in terms of our energy consumption patterns.

Examples of this would include more aggressive action in the following areas: car pooling; walking and bike riding; urban gardening and patronizing of local farmers markets; recycling of virtually everything possible; canning and old school-type food preservation techniques; and possibly even hand washing and drying our clothes. As unpleasant as these things may seem, billions of people around the world have lived like this for a long, long time. We should not be so naïve to think that this “simplification” of our way of life is impossible. In fact, within the next decade (if not sooner) much of it actually probable!

But, there are also legitimate equity and access issues to be addressed here. Peak Oil is an indiscriminant global phenomenon that will affect both the rich and the poor. However, in today’s hard economic times, can we realistically ask the poor to tighten their belts further, while the US “retools” its infrastructure for a more green and energy-efficient future? This is perhaps another topic for another article; however, we must build in equity issues (and environmental justice issues) into any set of alternative energy proposals and planning.

Planning for an Uncertain Future

We believe that planning at various levels of governance across both the public and private sectors is key. We must begin to think ahead. We must prepare ourselves—our state, city, and individual communities—for not being able to transport or produce the goods and services to which we have become so accustomed.

Approximately a hundred and fifty years ago and more, manual labor of African origin based in the fields of the South helped America become a global power. One hundred years ago as a result of the industrial revolution, and even more so after World War II, America stayed on top because machines that ran on oil made us even more productive. Now we foresee the end of the Age of Oil and it’s time to start doing virtually everything differently in response—and preferably in advance.

Question: If you were living in New Orleans, and you “somehow knew” Hurricane Katrina were coming a month ahead of time, what would you do?

You would either move out of the way or protect yourself and your stuff in every way possible. Why wouldn’t this same rationale be applicable here? As people are beginning to drive less, why aren’t we also building more buses in the City of Los Angeles, for example? Why aren’t we making cars that pollute less and are more fuel efficient? Why aren’t we manufacturing and then installing solar panels all over this city where it seemingly “never rains”? Why aren’t we creating neighborhood cooperatives to barter fruits and vegetables, perhaps in exchange for other people’s trade skills and services?The Storm of Peak Oil Looms on the Horizon

Again, we should all be proud of what we have recently achieved, as a community, in terms of seeing our brother Barak in the White House. As African-Americans, we have a long history of struggle in the political sphere, from which many Americans have benefited. We have been somewhat less adept at linking political factors to economic factors. More challenging still is in making the linkage between economic factors and ecological factors. In these areas we have been woefully blind, silent, and dumb. But we cannot afford to remain blind, silent, and dumb any longer: let Hurricane Katrina be the template for the future, perhaps. The political, the economic, and the ecological are linked. We must now sound the clarion call and warn our people. From the Valley to Compton, from Baldwin Hills to Nickerson Gardens, we have to pool our resources: we must pool our human, material and financial resources alike, and prepare ourselves.

There is No Time to Waste

After the short-term euphoria of Barak’s election wears off, we will still have our long-term economic grief to face. Nelson Mandela’s rise to power in formerly Apartheid South Africa is a potential harbinger of this—wealth and race are still highly correlated.

But no condition is permanent. In terms of our economic “Grief Cycle”, after our shock, denial and anger wears off, we must begin to move past bargaining, through depression, and toward testing and acceptance. Acceptance of our situation is what we must achieve, so as to bring about rational public policy and culture change, focused both on consuming less and sharing society’s burdens more equitably. Call this “socialism” if you will, but the reality is that the neo-liberal, capitalist, free market status quo has failed us (most of us, anyway) quite miserably. Ultimately, in concrete terms, that means we must quickly begin testing new ways of living, and accept the idea that our collective future started yesterday.


Blaine D. Pope

World Energy Crisis = World Financial Crisis

Colleagues:

I recently got my Ph.D., within the past year. What I now see taking place in world financial markets is giving me "PD-PTSD" (post-dissertation post-traumatic stress disorder)! Why? Well, I saw it all coming--again--sort of. At the time, I felt I could not finish writing my dissertation fast enough! The more research I did, the more I saw I was in a race against time. I concluded we were headed toward an energy-induced depression. We are in the early / prelim stages of that process now, I fear.

What does this all mean?

In the final analysis, the "financial system" is based on the "Earth system." One of the best indicators of the financial system (in terms its medium- and long-term trajectories) is human relationship with the Earth system--as seen in the human-built, global energy sub-system. And the chief proxy indicator within that system is medium- to long-term petroleum pricing and availability (year-after-year analysis; daily/weekly price analysis would only confuse). In short, follow the oil resources in order to follow the financial resources. The key is to look at the Big Picture.

The following is extracted from my dissertation, which I completed in December, 2007. Here, I look back to the early/mid-1970s, and the global economic impact of high oil prices at that time.

Ask yourselves, "Might history be repeating itself, once again?

"***William Engdahl (2004) wrote of the impact of unusually high energy prices during the period of the initial global energy crisis, during 1973/74, as follows:

"Most of the governments of Europe fell during this period, victims of the consequences of the oil crisis on their economies.

But for the less developed economies of the world, the impact of an overnight price increase of 400 per cent in their primary energy source was staggering. The vast majority of the world’s less developed economies, without significant domestic oil resources, were suddenly confronted with an unexpected and unpayable 400 per cent increase in the cost of energy imports, to say nothing of the cost of chemicals and fertilizers derived from petroleum. During this time, commentators began speaking of ‘triage,’ the wartime idea of survival of the fittest, and introduced the vocabulary of ‘Third World’ and ‘Fourth World’ (the non-OPEC countries).

According to the IMF, developing countries in 1974 incurred a total trade deficit of $35 billion, a colossal sum in that day, and, not surprisingly, a deficit four times as large as in 1973—precisely in proportion to the oil price increase." (p. 140)

Engdahl—an economist—continues on in the same section to make a strong case for the connection between global oil prices and national debt levels; however, all too often, issues of energy resource pricing and availability have simply not been sufficiently linked to issues of economy by mainstream economists, when addressing economic development (Auer, 2004; Catton, 1980; Hanson, 2001). Why might this be so? This dissertation will explore some of the assumptions that have gone into economic development discourse over the thirty year period under review here.***

End of dissertation excerpt

For more details on the theory behind all of this, please see my Dissertation.

The main idea here is that human "thoughtways" and human-built energy systems operate in symbiosis, forming positive feedback loops. Humans then structure all of their organizational systems (including financial systems) accordingly.

Please feel free to question or critique this work. I welcome your feedback.

Dr. Blaine