Sierra Crash Course

By WALT COOK
The Union Democrat

There was something for people of all political stripes at Chris Martenson’s presentation Thursday night at the Sonora Opera Hall, Martenson, nationally known for his economically focused Crash Course DVD, drew a big, politically diverse crowd made up of both young and old, with a number of local entrepreneurs and politicians among them. So many people showed up, in fact, that some had to be turned away at the door. The event was organized by local businessmen Cooper Kessel and Bob Gelman.

Martenson, 47, has a Ph.D. in neurotoxicology and an MBA in finance, and is a former vice president of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. He said he has since cut his standard of living in half due to the declining economy and has doubled his quality of life in the process. He is married with three children and lives on the East Coast.

Martenson’s message is essentially this: The “world is facing a number of never-before seen changes due to increasing debt, resource depletion and an over-dependence on oil. Humans can either ignore the mounting pressures until disaster strikes and respond in chaotic, insufficient ways, he says; or they can begin making changes today in an attempt to organize a more sustainable, localized world.

“Our decisions today, they will ripple and magnify, and our children will either love us or hate us,” he told the crowd of roughly 400. “We had a big party, and now we have a hangover and a little bit of a cleanup job.”

Martenson said the goal of his Crash Course is to help create “a world worth inheriting.” But first, the current economic paradigm of exponential growth in a finite world has got to be done away with for that to happen, he said. Using a large projector screen, he showed various line graphs in an attempt to prove his point. One of them illustrated the “hockey stick” trend of America’s national debt level — $12 trillion and counting, not including unfunded Social Security and Medicare liabilities (that adds $40 trillion) —- which overwhelms the nation’s $14 trillion gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced in a single year.

A second graph from the International Energy Agency showed a decline in worldwide oil production. In other words, we have already hit “peak oil,” according to Martenson.

The theory of peak oil, which is the driver behind Martenson’s message, says oil-dependent countries like the United States will see a drastic downscaling of its citizen’s lifestyles once half of the world’s oil reserves are tapped. That’s because, he said, the remaining half is harder — and very expensive to get to — which will result in higher prices on consumer goods, putting them out of reach for some. The production of some goods will likely cease altogether he noted, as energies are put toward essential items — like food.

But even food won’t be immune from price fluctuations, as it takes 10 oil-based calories to produce every calorie of food in America Martenson said. America uses 20 million barrels of oil per day, he noted “for everything.”

Oil gave a 100-to-l energy return in 1930 (that is, it took 1 barrel of oil to get 100 barrels), a 25-to-l return in 1970; an 18-to-l return in 1990; and a 3-to-l return today, according to Martenson’s figures.

Despite his criticism of over-reliance on oil, Martenson isn’t an oil hater. “I have real gratitude for what it gives us,” he said of the “magical” fossil fuel. He just thinks it’s being squandered. That goes for money too. Martenson noted that instead of preparing for a sustainable future through various public works projects — such as putting solar panels on roofs in America … the country’s leaders have opted instead to bail out insolvent Wall Street banks.

“It would cost you just a fraction of what we spent to ensure the banks didn’t lose any of their money,” he told the crowd. “We’ve got an insolvent government borrowing from an insolvent financial system and lending to insolvent banks.”

Though Martenson was enthusiastic about using solar power for homes, he didn’t express confidence that alternative energies will keep our current large-scale economy running, and he noted that uranium would have its own “peak” issues if the switch was made worldwide from oil to nuclear power. Regarding global warming, Martenson said he avoids talking about it because of its polarizing nature.

Judging by the reaction of Wall Street in 2009, which “acted like it was the end of the world” due to a slight decrease in worldwide economic growth, Martenson doesn’t place much faith in the system to do what’s necessary in the wake of peak oil — that is, the downscaling of some activities and the prioritizing of others in an organized fashion.

“An endless string of 2009s “would make it hard to live our technological dreams,” he said.

That’s why pressure should be applied to leaders now for a more sustainable future, he said, noting that the civil, labor and women’s rights movements were not the result of politicians doing the right thing independently. Rather, Martenson said, political leaders had to be dragged “kicking and screaming” by grassroots coalitions for those movements to bear fruit.

But, politics aside, we ultimately shape our own destiny, he stressed. For starters, he encouraged people to build stronger communities and support local agriculture. Martenson noted that he is a member of an agricultural co-op and buys meat that is produced locally “It keeps the money in our community,” he said.

Article originally appeared February 1, 2010 in The Union Democrat, print edition. Photo submitted by George Wikle.

Photos by George Wikle of Moss Beach, CA and R. Gelman of Sonora.