Recap

Coming Oil Crash

Matt Savinar, creator of Life After the Oil Crash website, discussed 'Peak Oil' and how life will change in the United States when oil begins to run out. According to Savinar, the earth was "originally endowed" with two trillion barrels of oil and he estimates we've already consumed about one trillion of those barrels.

When 50% of the world's oil reserve has been depleted, Savinar explained, not only does oil production decline, but it becomes increasingly more expensive to bring up the remaining oil. Diminishing oil supplies in turn will cause our financial system to collapse, he said, which will cause all other markets to follow suit. Citing the government's 'Oil Shockwave' simulation in which the world loses just 4% of its oil supply, Savinar said gas would hit $5.50/gallon and the market would lose 25% of its value. But Savinar expects things will get much worse.

He predicts the coming oil crash will lead to widespread power outages, fascist legislation from the Federal government to control the populace, as well as global wars over the remaining resources and racial wars at home. "It's not going to be pretty... we're not prepared," Savinar said. Savinar is currently part of a "Relocation Movement" in California working to set up parallel infrastructures for when, as he believes, the petroleum economy finally collapses.

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$100 Billion Storm

The Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday that economic losses from Hurricane Katrina are likely to top $100 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Private insurers will probably cover less than a quarter of that figure. Federal money and charitable contributions will likely be needed to handle the remaining losses.

There are also staggering losses expected from the interruption of business and displacement of residents. According to the The Independent, New Orleans will have to be shut for at least nine months, and many of its residents could remain homeless for up to two years. The cost of not doing business in New Orleans has been estimated by Risk Management Solutions at around $100 million a day.