Why The Next 20 Years Will Be Completely Unlike The Last 20

Let's pull back for a moment and look at the Really Big Picture:

We're facing a future in which the economic growth the world has enjoyed over the past century can no longer continue.

Over-indebtedness, mal-investment, cronyism, manipulation, and misguided policymaking have all certainly contributed to our current predicament. But the principal causes are much bigger. And much harder to address.

Simply put, we're entering an era when it's becoming increasingly difficult to obtain the resources we need -- at the cost we need -- to power the economic activity we need.

The trends of resource depletion, escalating mining & drilling costs, species die-offs, emptying aquifers, declining energy yields and the like are increasingly pitting the world's 7 billion people (soon to be 9 billion before 2050) against each other in competition for the remaining biomass and minerals that make industry possible.

As a result, massive changes to our way of life are in store. No matter where each of us lives.

This brand-new video shines a bright light on these trends and the risks we face as a result. But it also offers hope. If we take action now, while there's still time, there's much we can do not only to reduce our personal vulnerability to these threats, but also to step into this new future with newfound optimism:

For the best viewing experience, watch the below video in hi-definition (HD) and in expanded screen mode

//player.vimeo.com/video/98082156

click here to read the transcript

The above video is a condensation of the 4.5-hour long full Crash Course video series. The data and analysis underlying the material represent over a decade of intensive research and study. Over that decade, its forecasts have proved increasingly validated by events like the collapse of the housing bubble in 2007, the 2008 credit crisis and the anemic 'recovery' since, oil prices persistently over $100 per barrel, the five-fold rise in gold prices, and many other symptoms of an unsustainable world economy reaching its failure point. Sadly, the risks warned of in this video are very real, and they are arriving now.

Once you've finished watching the video, please share it with those whom you think would most benefit from it. The more people we wake up to its message, the more hands we'll have supporting us today in planning for tomorrow.

 

With thanks,

Chris Martenson PhD & Adam Taggart

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://peakprosperity.com/why-the-next-20-years-will-be-completely-unlike-the-last-20/

All:
This has been a long time in the making and Adam and Jason have been working their tails off to bring this to fruition.  So a hearty thanks to both Adam and Jason!!

We sincerely hope this new Accelerated Crash Course and all the related videos can help all of us reach a new and wider audience.

Also very good news is that the way in which we produced this allows us to make changes far more readily in the future and we expect to add/subtract, nip and tuck to continue our process of refinement over time.

Congratulations team, well done!

Not to overstate the case, but this summation is a true service to humanity.  It's EXACTLY what I have been waiting for to introduce the 3E's to my ADHD friends, co-workers, and family.  Thank you for the hard work and the solid production.  The quality is excellent - though not as good as the book! wink
To any new visitors to PP.com - Welcome!

In 2010 I caught my first episode of The Crash Course (Inflation) on YouTube.  After a short panic attack - it immediately opened my eyes and my mind and caused a move towards a more resilient future for my family and friends.  Now, almost 4 years later, we are in a solid position - most of us have moved to the country, we have improved our skills and abilities, we are watchful and aware - but not afraid.  Some did more, and some did less but we are all far better prepared for a new future.  I planted a vinyard in the months following - today I am eating grapes.

If you are seeing this information for the first time and feel a call to action - don't let it pass!  I am reminded of the old saw about planting a tree:  the best time to plant one is 20 years ago, and the second best time to plant one is today!  

You Are Not Alone!

Rector

I would like to thank Chris, Adam, and all others involving in putting together the new Crash Course.  My girlfriend has watched some of the original Crash Course videos and slowly I think she's starting to put things together for herself.  We watched the Accelerated Crash Course together this afternoon.  After about 2 years of me showing her videos and such from Peak Prosperity she's finally at the point of taking action.  At times I had wondered if it was ever going to sink in.  
I still think the central banks can take these 'markets' much higher before the disconnect with the real world, but trying to time things just right is a recipe for disaster.  My belief is that diversification is key, including owning some select conservative stocks, cash in multiple currencies, PM's, and as much local investment as feasible.  The financial system is going to be manipulated to the very end, and the governments around the world can do all sorts of things that are completely unimaginable by 99.9% of us.  This is why I think it's prudent to still have a small portion of one's wealth within the system.  It's all about managing risks & being diversified.   I have full confidence there will be a major dislocation/breakdown in the financial markets, but I think it's still up in the air whether we will continue on a high/hyperinlflationary path, or a deflationary depression.  There are so many variables in play right now.  

By the way, is there any word onhow to go about investing in Farmland LP that Adam has been discussing?   

Thanks

A much appreciated effort, well worth it, thank you.
This is going up on the intranet at work. It is easier to apologise than to ask permission. I'll takes my lumps later.

Listening/watching it now and it sounds & looks fantastic.  Lucid, clear, entertaining.
Fantastic.  Kudos.

Very well done, Chris and Adam, with something crucial that wasn't emphasized as much back in the first Crash Course: hope and optimism for the future. This one is a worthy wake-up call, and a call to action to strive positively for a world worth inheriting.
Poet

I shall be forwarding this to as many High school teachers as I know. It should be required learning for our children, it is there that I think it will have the greatest impact. Young minds that are already weary of the sclerotic economy created and supported by their parents. Young minds free from the doctrine of eternal exponential growth. Young minds that have no choice but look to the future. Young minds that are already asking the questions that the crash course answers.
Well done and thanks to Chris and the team.

I admire your ability to keep up with so much information and present it in a way most people can understand.

Brilliantly conceived and communicated.
Here is a follow up suggestion to take people to the PP website on a very defined path.

Link the final invitation from the Crash Course Video to a visitor (orientation) spot on the PP site that contains specifics. For example:

  1. Local Evolvement: Give a concrete story or example of something like a community garden, or a benefit for a distressed family. Then link that to the specific areas on PP where we discuss similar issues.
  2. Economics: Give a short example of how Gold and Silver served a family during a specific currency crisis, as compared to a family with paper assets. Then link that to areas such as the Gold/Silver group.
  3. Energy Efficiency:  Show the cost of a 2kw solar system installed vs the cost of a family 1 week vacation to a resort. Link to areas on alternative energy.
  4. Food:  Quantify the production from 10 potato plants, 4 tomatoes, 2 squash, basil, beans, lettuce with the area needed to grow and the cost to purchase the organic equivalent at Whole Foods. Link
  5. Emergency Readiness: Use a hurricane as an example and detail the response of a prepared family vs. the family caught off guard. Link to specific areas on the site.
  6. Health: Find something specific like the direct costs for a sedentary, obese person ( example: FIFA has reserved more than 4 600 super-sized seats at the 12 Soccer World Cup stadiums for obese people.)vs. the benefits of an active  lifestyle with good dietary habits. Link
When I try to put myself into the mindset of someone new to the concept of Peak Prosperity, I think I would like some specific examples and anecdotes to channel me from the macro down to the concrete micro level. Someone new to Peak Prosperity Concepts might feel overwhelmed when they arrive at the PP site without some guidance. 

  

A follow up comment.
On the top bar of the site where it says "Crash Course, Learn, Take Action, Discuss and Prepare" why not add a tab called "Visitor Orientation".  As a newbie, I would find that welcoming. 

Made my day!

Chris, Adam-
I very much like that you incorporated a quick analysis of the 'shale miracle' to the accelerated video. Whenever bringing these issues up or having people see the old CC, 'the shale oil/gas boom makes this irrelevant' is the most common response I hear. So while viewers may still initially refuse to accept the CC's conclusions, at least it gives them one less argument for reinforcing or maintaining their belief in the status quo staying the same. (And saves me some time having to constantly explain the long-term reality of shale oil cheeky)

  • Nick

This is another improvement in a string of improvements since the Crash Course was first on Youtube back in 2008. Great job!

Hello Chris,
Thank you so much for this and your entire effort thus far.

I live near you relatively speaking (RI) and have considered visiting you and yours with my wife some day.

I too have been changing my lifestyle to prepare for these challenges.

The concept of wealth hit home as well as the exponential growth problem and believe we must lead now.

In that vein, I would like to contribute an old idea, Georgism, or perhaps better named "Geo-economics."

This, along with a better monetary system and new wise leadership could really make a difference.

http://geoeconomics.wordpress.com/

These are at least non exponential possibilities for money we should consider.

http://www.monetary.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Gesell

I also like the articles CHS listed on Zero-hedge…

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-21/next-20-years-will-not-be-last-20-years-heres-why

Especially this one referenced…http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2014/jun/19/open-source-revolution-conquer-one-percent-cia-spy

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583944435/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1583944435&linkCode=as2&tag=charleshughsm-20&linkId=GNXB6JRKJMYDVUN6

Perhaps we need to Open-Source your "Call to Action"

 

 

 

 

 

In gratitude for your incredible and thorough work, I hereby promise to do everything I can to promulgate both the long and short versions.  My weekly mailing list approaches 4,000 and my three retreat Centers will attempt to have many presentations.  Can't wait to see the responses and reactions!

With the globe in such dire straights right now, all your Information Scouting endeavors will surely bear much beneficial fruit. Thanks to you all, I now feel secure in my preparations with just some small fine tuning needed.

Adam, you have inspired me to concentrate on a permaculture/agroforestry vision in Costa Rica, thus giving me interesting projects in my old age, or as they say in Portand, OR, in my "Honored Elder" years.   Preparing these places for my new reincarnation venture just adds more joy to my life this time around.  Many, many thanks, Ken 

 

P.S. As an ex-college professor (Sociology), I'm trying to figure out a way to create a college course, for credit or no-credit (continuing education) at 4-5 local Community Colleges in my area. Title of the course: Sustainable Living? The Three Es: Economy, Energy, and Environment?  Introduction to a Sustainable Planet?  etc..  Any other ideas, guys/gals?

And why not High Schools too? Or at local Community Centers? Possibly with on-line college programs? It's infinite, of course, --well, maybe ALMOST infinite.

The accelerated CC is great, but substituting Yankee Stadium for Fenway Park is a betrayal I'll never get over! And you live in Mass. Deplorable.

Tom -Both Chris and I grew up in New England.
If you had to destroy a stadium by flooding it, which one would you choose? 

A thank you to all who are responsible for today's crash course video.
I posted it on my Facebook page with the following comment.  ----->

 

Here is an updated version of Chris Martenson's crash course on economy, energy, and environment (the 3 E's).
I think of what he says as the flywheel effect.  The three E's are like a flywheel that is starting to slow down with no
way to speed it up again.   Right now we all are being propelled along by a flywheel that is decelerating so slowly
that no one notices.  To help myself understand what is happening all around us, I subscribed to Chis's free newsletter
that I signed up for at peakprosperity.com.   It arrives every Sunday morning and I read it all rather than the Sunday paper.

I've read articles written by and interviews with Chris, and I 'm glad to have had the privilege of accessing this audio/video. Most of of the ideas & concepts are not new to me; I've been reading and listening to a lot of other good people; visionaries in particular. However some ideas or insights are new to me; at least in the way they are put together.I appreciate this "PG" rated version of how the next 20 years may unfold. I'm glad there is no ranting and raving, and no singling out one political party as the one to blame.
My parents were born in 1925 [father] and 1929 [mother who is still alive]. My father was poor. My mother was lower middle to middle class. Both of their fathers maintained a job during the depression so they have a roof over their head, but my father's family barely had enough to eat. I had the privilege of hearing very detailed accounts of how life was during the depression and during WW2 [the civilian side from my mother, the south pacific military version from my father].
During the depression and WW2 civilians came to my mother's back door and knocked asking if they could spare a meal. My grandparents always had a pot of soup or stew on the stove and welcomed people in to a bathroom for cleaning and all they could eat. Humanitarian relief to the community one person at a time. Back then there was no government welfare like about 50% of all American families are getting some or a lot of [and in the next 20 years it won't keep up with inflation]. It was also a far more gentle and moral society; they asked for a meal; they didn't break in or commit violence to get what they needed or wanted.
When things get difficult in the future unfortunately at times and in some places it will be very dangerous and violent. I'm glad the video didn't get into the societal upheavals we will experience; that would turn off a wider newer audience you are trying to reach. People can only handle a finite amount of new information before shutting down or turning off.