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Professor at USU says U.S. society may collapse

Read the Book of Mormon! It is all explained in there.He is correct, of course,and we have been warned. Humanists will say man can fix this scenario and save the planet.Christ knows that He will need to come back as it is His creation. Meanwhile, we could stop and read the direction!!

Seems like he is trying to avoid the big pink elephant in the room by giving a PC answer - nuclear energy. Ironically, both solar and wind power trace nuclear energy as their source.

People's answer to the collapse of the Roman Empire always seems to say much more about their own biases than the actual facts. Thus, you had French scholars in the twentieth century blaming the fall on "Germanic tribes," and contemporary historians blaming it on "environmental degradation." Both simply reveal the biases of the historians.

Nothing new here, call it the Nancy Pelosi blueprint.

In the end, Joseph Tainter sounds like a disciple of Al Gore, the man who would stand to be radical enviromentalists first billion-aire. And we trust the anointed Al Gore, because?
Our society will succeed or fail based on its moral/ethical direction. Not based on its ability to provide. We do have the ability to feed nations, we just don't have the ability to redistribute wealth like the always charitable left would have us believe.

I love how you note that solar and wind trace their source to nuclear power -- but that source is 93 million miles away and doesn't pose the threat that having it in our backyards provides!

Give it up! Nuclear power will never make a come back -- from its cost to build to its ongoing cost for storing/guarding waste (yes, we're still paying for the nuclear waste created by our grandparents!) to its dwindling uranium reserves to its excessive water needs -- nuclear power is a non-starter!

"Green" hit the nail on the head. The USU guy is a PC Gore clone. Societies moral/ethical underpinings will sink or save them, period.

Tainter said. "Possibilities range from little effect to a mild recession to a major depression to a collapse."

Wow, now there is some penetrating insight. Talk about hedging your bets.

It sounds like he is explaining what happened under Mr. George W. Bush. Larger, more complex government. Not solving any problems. Just letting things get out of hand and throwing more money at any problem or perceived problem.

I must say I am impressed with the insight expressed in some of these blogs.

Our civilization is on the verge of collapse because we have turned away from GOD. That is all we really need to know. And yes, the Book of Mormon is an excellent source for understanding what happens to civilizations when they forget to live moral and correct principles.

Our only hope of staving off disaster is that we again turn to GOD. That's it PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

and not a word about moral decay...

Thus says Malthus.

An 18th century philosopher/economist who predicted the complete collapse of western society. Of course he was wrong. He made bold predictions such as by the early 1800's man's growth would completely outstrip all food and energy sources, etc. We would then see massive food riots, famine, pestilence, etc.

In the end we are 200+ years past any of his predictions.

I do agree that the cost of maintaining an empire is wholly unsuited for a free people. And that in order to maintain we must continually expand. Sadly, we have chosen to do so through force. Instea we should expand our trading partners through negotiation and mutual benefit.

The most recent example of empire collapse is the Soviet Union. Before that it was the Ottoman and the English empires. You could even argue that the Japanese and Germans had one that didn't get so far off the ground.

America should stop being an empire and return to our roots as a free people. And I'm Republican for all of those inclined to defend George Bush through implied attack.

Actually, this isn't an argument based on environmental degradation, it's based on the economic principle of diminishing returns, and it makes a lot of sense. The explosive growth of America over the last 100 years was based on innovation and the availability of cheap energy. We need a new, less expensive source of energy to continue to drive that economic engine. The oil resources in the world will run out in less than 50 years. The question is what we replace oil with.

Become an independet. Don't let the Democrtas co-op sanity for their ideaological mecca. No cap and trade. No energy tax. None of that hocus pocus. For crying out loud. Take back the economy from the liberal wealth destroyers. Vote Matheson out of office today.

No Dems. No Repubs. Just Americans independent of the goofiness. Get our economic house in order. If you don't have it, you shouldn't be spending it.

Isn't renewable energy the next big bubble? After that pops, what next? I think he's right that renewable energy will stall the collapse of the U.S. for a time, but it won't work forever. Don't you people read the scriptures?

The only way to grow is by dividing. Living cells cannot just keep growing without dividing. Neither can human organizations. Rome didn't understand this principle of government and fell apart in order to divide. Wouldn't it be better to keep our country together by dividing local governments that have gotten too big by growth?

California is struggling in part because it is too big and should be divided. The best thing that could have happen to Jordan School District was to divide. As our local governments divide, we can be preserved. That happened as we grew geographically with more states.

Now that isn't happening, and so people aren't growing. Pushing the governance closer to the people by dividing as we grow builds people. THAT is what will preserve us.

We cannot survive as a nation unless we divide as we grow.

...we could just drill and explore here in the U.S. While we are at it, some 'green' genius could come up with the next great form of energy. The problem is only this dire because of stupid 'unsustainable' government regulation and programs. Anyone who thinks that the same people who managed the Hurricane Katrina response (the government) will lead us out of our current situation is crazy.

This is a fascinating subject...and one that many of us are tempted to skim over out of suspicion, doubt, or, more likely, fear. Yet Professor Tainter is only stating the facts here, and his argument is based on what's happened to other major civilizations throughout history. Will the United States follow the collapse of other major civilizations like the Roman Empire?

Of course there will be a colapse. How can there not be when there is such a great economic despairity between the haves and have nots. Every empire has colapsed when the devide has become so wide: Rome, France, Russia, Mayan, Spain, Egypt, etc. etc... I welcome the change; you should too, or course unless you are one of the very affuent.

engineered by Polosi. Destroy our economics, destroy our country. Green has nothing or little to do with it. It is moral decay. The collapse of our modern Babyonic governments will be Biblical in it's nature. The wise will retreat to Zion, the wicked will continue to do wickedly. (Daniel ch 12)
Only those with spiritual direction will understand how to deal with this calamity. (lst Corinthians ch.2) Tainter is right on this point. We are presently is such a bad state of economic collapse that we can no longer wield influence in the world.

one of the more interesting comments I've seen.