James Howard Kunstler has become the gold standard for doom and gloom predictions. Kunstler may be one of the most entertainingly negative people in the Country about where the US is going and why. He's a real expert on Peak Oil too. Although we're not yet convinced of the specific numbers, obviously there's only so much oil and no matter what your particular expectation, we probably should act like oil's running out whether it is or not. Just like Global Warming, air pollution, population, dirty bombs, financial meltdown, and all the other doom and gloom the country and the world face. Oh, did I mention natural disasters? The localizers are certainly right about this. We'll probably be on our own soon.
But Kunstler is also good on urban/suburban planning and the cyber powers that be have conveniently posted a very instructive and funny lecture Kunstler gave in California a few years ago on the theme: "Places we shouldn't care about." Or something like that.
I know several local places I certainly don't care about. (And you know who you are.)
To view the lecture simply cut and paste this YouTube website address into your browser. It's about 21 minutes long and well worth it. If you are reminded of several local "cities" in Mendo, or wherever you live, remember: contrary to Boz Scaggs: You're not alone.
PS. Kunstler also has his own doom and gloom website which is easy to find with Google for hard-core depressionists. But don't try to digest too much of it at a time. It's bad for your health.
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