Our centuries-old system of nation-states may not be long for this world, says Hampshire College professor Michael T. Klare at CBS News. It was established with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, at the end of Europe’s “intensely brutal” Thirty Years’ War. But now, we’re about to enter another 30-year period of upheaval and bloodshed. This time it will be global, and the future of the planet, not just individual nations, will be at stake. With growing demand for energy, dwindling oil supplies, and increasing havoc from climate change, whoever is standing tall in 2041 will be the nation or corporation that corners the new energy sources to power our planet. And when it’s all over, “the planet is likely to have in place the foundations of a new system for organizing itself — this time around energy needs.” Here, an excerpt:

Think of us today as embarking on a new Thirty Years’ War. It may not result in as much bloodshed as that of the 1600s, though bloodshed there will be, but it will prove no less momentous for the future of the planet. Over the coming decades, we will be embroiled at a global level in a succeed-or-perish contest among the major forms of energy, the corporations which supply them, and the countries that run on them. The question will be: Which will dominate the world’s energy supply in the second half of the 21st century? The winners will determine how — and how badly — we live, work, and play in those not-so-distant decades, and will profit enormously as a result. The losers will be cast aside and dismembered….

Because the acquisition of adequate supplies of energy is as basic a matter of national security as can be imagined, struggles over vital resources — oil and natural gas now, perhaps lithium or nickel (for electric-powered vehicles) in the future — will trigger armed violence…. There is no way the existing energy system can satisfy the world’s future requirements. It must be replaced or supplemented in a major way by a renewable alternative system or, forget Westphalia, the planet will be subject to environmental disaster of a sort hard to imagine today.

Read the entire article in CBS News.

Daily Mail – When farmers Danielle and Matt Boerson realised they could no longer afford to run their tractors, they took the bull by the horns – and ditched them for oxen.

Soaring petrol prices had become so high that the couple, who run an 80-acre farm near Madison, Wisconsin, were forced to get rid of their two tractors, hay baler, plough and rotavator.

So they took a course at the agricultural institute in traditional farming techniques.

‘It gave me the confidence that, yes, I could do this’, Danielle told the Times. ‘It just required a lot of concentration and a firm voice.’

Their instructor was former peace core volunteer Dick Roosenberg, 64, who learned the trade while working for the UN in West Africa.

He took the skills he had honed back to Michigan and set up Tillers International.

At first the company was aimed at helping Third World farmers harvest in the cheapest way possible.

On the side, he also helped historically-themed villages.

But his specialist knowledge is now enjoying a new wave of interest with farmers from Wisconsin to Alaska now joining his courses.

He is already teaching up to 20 farmers every weekend.

‘People want to get away from petroleum fuels where they can, because it’s getting more expensive,’ he said.

A pair of plough-ready oxen cost $3,000 (£1,800) – roughly the same as a second hand tractor.

But younger cattle are a snip at $150 each. They only eat grass and can work for up to 14 years.

They are also a handy source of fertilizer and can be eaten when they die.

The only downside is that they are slow and are not viable on a large farm. They are however perfect for ‘small farms, with high-value garden crops’, said Mr Roosenberg.

Todd Juzwiak, 42, bought two oxen after learning how to command them with Mr Roosenberg.

He told the Times: ‘We are definately saving on fuel. Though it’s not necessarily easier. Tractors don’t often jump over fences.’

• The world population will rise dramatically; every 13-15 years there will be one billion additional people: In 30-40 years the planet will no longer be able to sustain the population; this will have distressing effects for humankind.
• 10 billion people are manageable only with dictatorship and military suppression; culture, individual development and life of free spirit will no longer be allowed, it will be impossible and definitely not open to discussion.
• Exorbitant spending on military, wars, large industries and state administration together with corruption do not allow for any solutions.
• The incredibly hyped up weapons and car industry will drain the earth of its resources and lead the planet to total collapse resulting in the complete destruction of life.
• Due to huge debts and speculation the next financial crisis will lead to a complete breakdown of the system and destroy with it entire countries and nations resulting in widespread anarchy and suffering.
• The unequal distribution of wealth and natural resources of the earth will mean the end of supra-millionaires and billionaires as well as their children’s future.
• Increasing and ever more unpredictable change in the climate will bring enormous destruction to continents resulting in incalculable damage and costs; not to mention hideous suffering.
• We have to expect more drought, floods, heat waves, fires, heavy rainfall, storms, tornadoes, cyclones with the worst imaginable aftermath for the environment and people.
• Sea levels will increase by 20-60 cm. in the next 20-60 years; some experts predict an increase of 90-150 cm. By 2100, all this will wreak havoc.
• Beaches, landscapes, entire islands and natural habitats will be completely destroyed or simply disappear; there will be overwhelmingly more contamination and pollution.
• Natural resources (e.g. fish, drinking water, natural food, water for agricultural productions, healthy farm land) will decrease spectacularly and become more and more contaminated.
• Mega-cities and widespread construction as well as pollution, littering, contamination and radiation of the earth, air, water, seas and food will increase.
• All variations of cancer and serious illnesses will increase dramatically as a result of pollution, poisoning, fine dust and radiation: What the chain reactions in the human body will be nobody knows. No one has been there before.
• 1-2 billion people will fall into poverty in the coming 10 years; in 30-40 years this will be 80% of the population; completely without or at best with minimum medical provision.
• The sewage water (with poisonous substances) of 2.5 billion people flows directly into the oceans and seas today; this amount will double in the next 25 years and in 40 years will completely destroy nature.
• Several hundred million people will migrate in search of a new home as a result of unemployment, wars, climate change and natural catastrophes.
• All kinds of rubbish and waste, especially nuclear, electric and car waste, will take on gigantic dimensions and totally poison land, oceans and seas.
• The price of oil, wheat, corn, rice, coffee, sugar and soya will rise dramatically and thus become unattainable for 30% of the world’s population; 80% will have to live under the bread line.
• Most people in industrialized nations will have significantly less disposable wealth which will curtail holidays. Tourism around the globe will collapse.
• Unemployment statistics fail to reflect reality. Around the world today there are over half a billion people who have no work or too little work; this will result in massive social unrest.
• Crises, unrest, revolutions, wars, tax hikes and martial laws will completely choke the human experience; religious conflict will form part of everyday life.
• The explosive hotspots and conflicts will increase and totally change the world; WWIII is imminent, ongoing and can begin any moment; they are all ready.
• Humanity and all religions have lost the Archetypes of the Soul, also Love, the Truth, Trust, as well as genuine inner needs and the inner Spirit.
• The truth has no chance today. Lies, perversion, lunacy, religious psychosis, narcissism, arrogance, ignorance and stupidity have replaced the truth.
• Humanity is (nearly) completely brainwashed and manipulated, degenerated in its inner being. It has become soulless; therefore driven by illusions, greed and repression of guilt.
• The world will collapse beyond repair in 30-40 years with 9-10 billion people. The “end” is foreseeable and will become reality for those alive today and especially for the coming generation!

Download the World Report 2011…

Zero Hedge – As if a dollar in freefall was not enough, surging oil is about to hit the turbo boost, decimating what is left of the US (and global) consumer. Xinhua, via Energy Daily, brings this stunner: “ Chinese oil giant Sinopec has stopped exporting oil products to maintain domestic supplies amid disruption concerns caused by Middle East unrest and Japan’s earthquake, a report said Wednesday. The state-run Xinhua news agency did not say how long the suspension would last but it reported that the firm had said it also would take steps to step up output “to maintain domestic market supplies of refined oil products”. Oh but don’t worry, those good Saudi folks are seeing a massive drop in demand… for their Kool aid perhaps. “Sinopec would ensure supplies met  the “basic needs” of the southern Chinese special regions of Hong Kong and Macao, but they also should expect an unspecified drop in supply, Xinhua quoted an unnamed company official as saying.” Now… does anyone remember the 1970s?

The report said Sinopec has raised output of refined oil products this year, with its first-quarter production reaching 31.55 million tonnes, an increase of 6.2 percent from the same period last year.

Sinopec last month said its 2010 net profit rose nearly 14 percent on higher oil prices and strong domestic demand for refined oil and chemical products.

It reported a net profit of 71.8 billion yuan ($11 billion).

The Beijing-based company attributed the result to China’s rapid economic growth, robust oil demand and “the increase in the price of crude oil, oil products and petrochemical products.”

It had said at the time that it would continue to “expand markets” in China and overseas this year, while intensifying its exploration efforts in the country’s western regions.

Oil prices have surged on supply concerns as governments in the oil-rich Middle East and North Africa are hit by popular uprisings, while the Japan quake and resulting nuclear crisis led the country to seek other forms of energy other than atomic.

And another perspective on how China just gave Geithner and his inflation exporting dreams the biggest, baddest middle finger, from Global Times:

China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec Group), Asia’s largest oil refiner by capacity, said Tuesday it had halted refined oil exports, except those to Hong Kong and Macao, in order to bolster domestic supply. Analysts said the move would help prepare for a possible domestic fuel shortage later this year.

Due to the turmoil in the Middle East and the earthquake in Japan, Sinopec is facing pressure just to meet demand at home, the company said.

The company will keep its refineries running at full capacity, but will cut petrochemical production and reduce the workload at its chemical plant installations to boost the domestic supply of refined oil, it said. It plans to produce 10.54 million tons of refined oil products in April.

The company did not say how much refined oil it would hold back from the international market.

“With the weather getting warmer, more cars hitting the road and increased demand from the construction, industrial and logistic sectors, the consumption of refined oil is expected to surge in April,” said Wang Shunzeng, secretary-general of Beijing Petrol Circulation Industry Association.

Meanwhile, due to inflation and the rising price of crude oil, many private refineries have reduced production, making it necessary for State refiners to step in to fill the gap, analysts said.

China’s refined oil inventories fell last month after hitting record highs at the end of February, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Tuesday.

The country’s apparent refined oil use in March reached a record high of 21.73 million tons, the NDRC said.

“The inventory of refined oil is actually still at the normal level. Sinopec’s move suggested that it is making early preparations for peak demand in summer and a possible fuel shortage later this year,” Zhong Jian, chief analyst with C1 Energy, told the Global Times.

The country had a shortage of fuels last year, especially a diesel shortfall in the fourth quarter when electricity cuts due to power rationing caused factories to use backup diesel generators to provide power, thus pushing up diesel demand.

Zhong said that China’s crude oil processing capability would rise by 17 million tons this year, but this figure is lower than for the two previous years. He also said there would be a 4-million-ton shortage of diesel oil this year

Translation: Shit just got real, and is about to manifest itself in limit ups in both regular, and black gold.

Flight Global – Concern over a possible radioactive hazard from Japan’s damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant has prompted a formal warning from airspace monitors.

London Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre has issued a nuclear emergency message covering 10 flight information regions.

Among them are airspace zones in China, Korea, Russia and the USA.

The emergency message is timed at 03:00UTC on 15 March, and is open-ended.

It identifies the affected flight information regions as Fukuoka – the extensive region which encompasses Japanese airspace – plus Manila, Taibei, Shanghai, Incheon, Pyongyang, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Anchorage.

London VAAC handles advisories linked to the threat of volcanic eruption and was heavily involved in co-ordination efforts during the Icelandic ash crisis last year.

At a meeting of the International Airways Volcano Watch operations group in Bangkok, in 2007, the London centre was invited to be the “focal point” for notifying en route air traffic control centres of International Atomic Energy Agency warnings over accidental release of radioactive material.

Russian military prepares for nuclear fallout

Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
March 15, 2011

As the scale of the nuclear disaster unfolding at the stricken Fukushima’s nuclear plant begins to be finally realised, despite the Japanese government’s continued underplaying of the situation, mass evacuations are are underway with people fleeing Tokyo and North Eastern areas of the country in order to avoid a toxic cloud of radiation heading their way.

China became the first government to issue a mass evacuation order of all its citizens from the entire north east of Japan late last night.

Citing “the seriousness of and uncertainty surrounding the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant at present”, the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo announced that it would be sending buses to evacuate all Chinese nationals from the Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Iwate prefectures.

There are thought to be over 22 thousand Chinese nationals working in those areas. Those that are bussed out will be flown out of the country via China Southern Airlines on huge 272 seater jets.

Austria followed suit by announcing it would be moving its embassy from Tokyo to Osaka, over 250 miles (400 kilometers) away, due to radiation concerns. France and Finland have also urged their citizens to leave Tokyo and either move to the South of Japan or get out of the country altogether.

The Czech military has reportedly sent in planes to evacuate its nationals, While Russia says it is preparing to remove all of its soldiers and civilians from the Kuril islands, which are disputed with Japan.

Inside Russia, in the Far East of the country, military units are reportedly preparing to evacuate towns on concerns of nuclear fallout, while residents are rushing to buy iodine pills.

The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo has issued a warning to Americans saying they “should avoid travel to Japan at this time.” Several other European countries have done the same.

Reuters reports that several multinational companies have also issued evacuation orders, yet American based companies, including JP Morgan and Citigroup banks have refrained from doing so because they are following guidance by the U.S. embassy, which has not urged nationals to leave Tokyo.

Airlines including Lufthansa have begun canceling flights to Tokyo.

Journalists, tourists and even residents are also lining up at airports to get away as soon as they can, according to reports.

Those that have stayed have emptied the shelves of grocery stores in Tokyo, which have practically all sold out of rice, noodles and bread and other items such as radios, flashlights, candles, fuel cans and sleeping bags.

The prevailing popular mood in the Japanese capital now seems to be that the public is not being told of the true scale of the danger they are in and the government cannot be trusted as a reliable source of information. Many have chosen to simply leave as quickly as possible.

Economic Collapse Blog – The economic collapse of Japan has begun.  The extent of the devastation is now becoming clear and many are now projecting that this will be the most expensive natural disaster in modern human history.  The tsunami that struck Japan on March 11th swept up to 6 miles inland, destroying virtually everything in the way.  Countless thousands were killed and entire communities were totally wiped out.  So how does a nation that is already drowning in debt replace dozens of cities and towns that have suddenly been destroyed?  Many in the mainstream media are claiming that the economy of Japan will bounce right back from this, but they are wrong.  The tsunami decimated thousands of square miles.  The loss of homes, cars, businesses and personal wealth is almost unimaginable.  It is going to take many years to rebuild the roads, bridges, rail systems, ports, power lines and water systems that were lost.  There are going to be a significant number of Japanese insurance companies and financial institutions that are going to be totally wiped out as a result of this great tragedy.  Of course in the days ahead the Japanese people will band together and work hard to rebuild the nation, but the truth is that it is impossible to “bounce right back” from such a massive loss of wealth, assets and infrastructure.

Just think about what happened after Hurricane Katrina.  Did the economy of New Orleans bounce right back?  No, there are some areas of New Orleans today that still look like war zones.

Well, this disaster is much worse.

The truth is that this is going to be one of the defining moments in the history of Japan.  Hundreds of miles along the coast of Japan have been absolutely devastated.  Authorities are finding it difficult to even get food and water into some areas at this point.

Even before this great tragedy Japan was one of the nations that was on the verge of a national economic collapse.  Their economy had been in the doldrums for over a decade and their national debt was well over 200 percent of GDP.  Now the Japanese economy has experienced a shock from which it may never truly recover.

The Bank of Japan is already flooding the Japanese economy with new yen, and so we may indeed see some impressive “economic growth” statistics at the end of the year.  But just because lots more yen are being passed around does not mean that the Japanese economy is in better shape.

The truth is that a tsunami of yen is not going to undo the damage that the tsunami of water did.  A massive amount of Japanese wealth was wiped out by this disaster.  An economy that was already teetering on the brink is now very likely going to plunge into oblivion.

It is fine to be optimistic, but the cold, hard reality of the situation is that this is a knockout blow for the Japanese economy.  The extent of the devastation is just too great.  This truly is a complete and total nightmare.

The following are 14 reasons why the economic collapse of Japan has now begun….

#1 The Bank of Japan has announced that they have decided to flood the Japanese economy with 15 trillion yen.  That is the equivalent of roughly $183 billion dollars.  This is going to provide needed liquidity in the short-term, but it is also going to set Japan on a highly inflationary course.

#2 Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average declined by more than 6 percent on Monday.  As the full extent of the damage becomes apparent more declines are likely.

#3 Oil refineries all over Japan have been severely damaged or destroyed.  For example, six refineries that combine to process 31 percent of the oil for Japan have been totally shut down at least for now.

#4 The damage to roads, bridges, ports and rail systems is estimated to be in the billions of dollars.  The damage done to power lines and water systems is almost unimaginable.  It is going to take many years to rebuild the infrastructure of Japan.

#5 Right now the flow of goods and services in many areas of northern Japan has been reduced to a crawl, and this is likely to remain the case for quite some time.

#6 Many cities and towns along the east coast of Japan have essentially been completely destroyed.

#7 Japan’s nuclear industry is essentially dead in the water at this point.  Even if there is not a full-blown nuclear meltdown, the events that have transpired already have frightened people enough to cause a massive public outcry against nuclear power in Japan.

#8 Japan is going to need even more oil and natural gas in the long run to replace lost nuclear energy production.  Prior to this crisis, Japan derived 29 percent of its electricity from nuclear power.

#9 Japan is the second largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt, but that is about to change.  Japan currently has about $882 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds and they are going to have to liquidate much of that in order to fund the rebuilding of their nation.

#10 Many factories in Japan are closing down at least temporarily.  For example, Nissan has shut down four factories and Sony has shut down six factories.

#11 Toyota has shut down all production at its factories in Japan until at least March 16th.

#12 A substantial number of Japanese financial institutions and insurance companies are absolutely going to be devastated by this nightmare.

#13 Japan’s budget deficit was already 9 percent of GDP even before this tragedy.  Now they are going to have to borrow lots more money to fund the rebuilding effort.

#14 Japan’s national debt was already well over 200 percent of GDP even before this tragedy.  How much farther into the danger zone can they possibly go?

Sadly, as the economy of Japan goes down it is going to have a huge affect on the rest of the world as well.  For example, Japan is no longer going to be able to buy up huge amounts of U.S. Treasuries.  So who is going to pick up the slack?  Will our government officials beg China to lend us even more money?  Will the Federal Reserve just “buy” even more of our government debt?

Right now there are more questions than there are answers, but what is clear is that the Japanese economy has just been dealt an incapacitating blow.  Hopefully this tragedy will bring out the best in the Japanese people, but no matter how resilient they are, the truth is that this is something that no nation would be able to bounce back from quickly.

Let us hope that the economic damage from this tragedy will be contained and will not spread to the rest of the world.  The global economy is already in enough trouble, and hopefully this tragedy will not cause a cascade of economic failures to sweep the globe.

Le Figaro – The ongoing nuclear accident at the Japanese central Fukushima reached level 6 gravity on the international level that are 7, said today the president of the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), Andre-Claude Lacoste.

Level 7 has been reached only once in the world, when the nuclear accident at the Ukrainian Chernobyl plant in 1986. The Japanese authorities have classified the accident in Fukushima 4 Saturday, following the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit the east coast of the archipelago.

In Japan, “we are now in a situation different from that of yesterday. It is quite clear that we are at a level 6, which is intermediate between what happened (to the Central American) Three Mile Island (in 1979) and Chernobyl, “said President of the ASN at a press conference in Paris.

“We are in a disaster quite obvious, ” he added.

Translated from French.

(CNN) — U.S. Navy personnel are taking precautionary measures after instruments aboard an aircraft carrier docked in Japan detected low levels of radioactivity from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the Navy said Tuesday.

The USS George Washington was docked for maintenance in Yokosuka, about 175 miles (280 kilometers) from the plant, when instruments detected the radiation at 7 a.m. Tuesday (6 p.m. ET Monday), the Navy said in a statement.

Personnel will limit outdoor activities and secure external ventilation systems there and at a nearby air facility in Atsugi.

“These measures are strictly precautionary in nature. We do not expect that any United States federal radiation exposure limits will be exceeded even if no precautionary measures are taken,” the Navy said.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan warned Tuesday that the risk of further releases of radioactive material from the plant remains “very high.”

Radioactive steam has been released intentionally to lessen growing pressure in the reactors. But radiation levels at the plant increased Tuesday to “levels that can impact human health,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters.

The announcement came after an explosion at the plant’s No. 2 reactor. In addition, Edano said, the building housing the No. 4 unit — which had been shut down before Friday’s earthquake — was burning Tuesday morning,

On Monday the Navy said it was repositioning ships after tests had detected low levels of radioactivity on 17 U.S. Navy helicopter crew members that had been conducting disaster relief missions in Japan.

No further contamination was detected after the crew members washed with soap and water, the Navy said.

The Navy’s Monday statement, however, provided some perspective, noting that the maximum potential radiation dose received by ship personnel when it passed through the area was “less than the radiation exposure received from about one month of exposure to natural background radiation from sources such as rocks, soil, and the sun.”

Chron - Japanese officials say the nuclear fuel rods appear to be melting inside all three of the most troubled nuclear reactors.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Monday: “Although we cannot directly check it, it’s highly likely happening.”

Some experts would consider that a partial meltdown of the reactor. Others, though, reserve that term for times when nuclear fuel melts through a reactor’s innermost chamber but not through the outer containment shell.

Monster and Critics - The fuel rods at one of the quake-stricken nuclear reactors in north-eastern Japan may have partially melted, Kyodo News reported Monday citing Tokyo Electric Power Co officials.

The fuel rods at the reactor 2 of the Fukushima I plant were fully exposed late Monday as the water level of the cooling system dropped, damaged by Friday’s magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami.

Authorities had been trying to keep the core of the reactor cool with sea water after the quake cut the power to the normal cooling systems.