Stonehenge Solstice 2005

hey manos,

thanks sooo much for the photos: magical :-) i wish i could have been there - i'll try again for next year.

love and solidarity,

--gdm

"Stoned hippies damage ancient stones by having selfish party"

Dear Reader,
Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon. This is
not the wacky proclamation of a doomsday cult, apocalypse
bible prophecy sect, or conspiracy theory society. Rather, it
is the scientific conclusion of the most widely-respected
geologists, physicists, and investment bankers in the world.
These are rational, professional, conservative individuals
who are absolutely terrified by a phenomenon known as
global “Peak Oil.”
“Are We ‘Running Out’? I Thought There Was 40
Years of the Stuff Left”
Oil will not just “run out” because all oil production
follows a curve. This is true whether we’re talking about an
individual oil field, a country, or on the planet as a whole.
Oil is increasingly plentiful on the upslope of the curve,
increasingly scarce and expensive on the down slope. The
peak of the curve coincides with the point at which 50
percent of the oil has been used. Once the peak is passed,
oil production begins to go down while cost begins to go
up.
In practical and considerably oversimplified terms, this
means that if 2000 was the year of global Peak Oil,
worldwide oil production in the year 2020 will be the
same as it was in 1980. However, the world’s population
in 2020 will be both much larger (approximately double
1980) and much more industrialized (oil-dependent) than
it was in 1980. Consequently, worldwide demand for oil
will outpace worldwide production of oil by a significant
margin. As a result, the price will skyrocket, oil-dependant
economies will crumble, and resource wars will explode.
The issue is not one of “running out” so much as it is
not having enough to keep our economy running. In this
regard, the results of Peak Oil for our civilization are
similar to the implications of dehydration for the human
body. The human body is 70 percent water. The body of a
200 pound man thus holds 140 pounds of water. Because
water is so crucial to everything the human body does, the
man doesn’t need to lose all 140 pounds of water weight
before collapsing due to dehydration. A loss of as little as
10-15 pounds of water may be enough.
In a similar sense, an oil-based economy such as ours
doesn’t have to deplete its entire reserve of oil before it
begins to collapse. A shortfall between demand and supply
as little as 10-15 percent is enough to wholly shatter an oildependent
economy and reduce its citizenry to poverty.
The effects of even a small drop in production can be
devastating. For instance, during the 1970s oil shocks,
shortfalls in production as small as 5% caused the price
of oil to nearly quadruple. The same thing happened in
California a few years ago with natural gas: a production
drop of less than 5% caused prices to skyrocket by 400%.
The coming oil shocks won’t be so short-lived. They
represent the onset of a new, permanent condition. Once
the decline gets under way, production will drop by 3% at
least per year, every year.
That estimate comes from numerous sources, not the least
of which is Vice President Dick Cheney himself. In a 1999
speech he gave while still CEO of Halliburton, Cheney
stated: By some estimates, there will be an average of twopercent
annual growth in global oil demand over the years
ahead, along with, conservatively, a three-percent natural
decline in production from existing reserves.That means by
2010 we will need on the order of anadditional 50 million
barrels a day.
Cheney’s assesement is supported by the estimates of
numerous non-political, retired, and working scientists,
many of whom believe global oil production will peak and
go into terminal decline within the next five years.
Some geologists expect 2005 to be the last year of the
cheap-oil bonanza, while estimates coming out of the
oil industry indicate “a seemingly unbridgeable supplydemand
gap opening up after 2007,” which will lead to
major fuel shortages and increasingly severe blackouts
beginning around 2008-2012.
The long-term implications of Peak Oil on your way of life
are nothing short of mind blowing. As we slide down the
downslope of the global oil production curve, we may find
ourselves slipping into what some scientists are calling a
“post-industrial stone age.”
Peak Oil is also called “Hubbert’s Peak,” named for the
Shell geologist Dr. Marion King Hubbert. In 1956, Hubbert
accurately predicted that US domestic oil production would
peak in 1970. He also predicted global production would
peak in 1995, which it would have had the politically
created oil shocks of the 1970s not delayed the peak for
about 10-15 years.
“Big deal. If prices get high, I’ll just drive less. Why
should I give a damn?”
Because petrochemicals are key components to much more
than just the gas in your car. As geologist Dale Allen Pfeiffer
points out in his article entitled, “Eating Fossil Fuels,”
approximately 10 calories of fossil fuels are required to
produce every 1 calorie of food eaten in the US.
The size of this ratio stems from the fact that every step
of modern production is fossil fuel and petrochemical
powered:
1. Farming implements such as tractors and trailers are
constructed and powered using oil;
2. Food transport and storage systems such as
refrigerators are manufactured in oil-powered
plants, distributed across oil-powered transportation
networks.
3. In the US, the average piece of food is transported
almost 1,500 miles before it gets to your plate. In
Canada, the average piece of food is transported
5,000 miles from where it is produced to where it is
consumed.
4. Commercial fertilizers are made from ammonia,
which is made from natural gas, which will peak about
10 years after oil peaks;
5. Pesticides are made from oil;
It’s not just transportation and agriculture that are entirely
dependent on abundant, cheap oil. Modern medicine, water
distribution, and national defense are each entirely powered
by oil and petroleum derived chemicals.
In addition to transportation, food, water, and modern
medicine, mass quantities of oil are required for all plastics,
all computers and all high-tech devices.
Some specific examples may help illustrate the degree to
which our technological base is dependent on fossil fuels:
1. The construction of an average car consumes the
energy equivalent of approximately 27 barrels (1,142
gallons) of oil. Ultimately, the construction of a car will
consume an amount of fossil fuels equivalent to twice
the car’s final weight.
2. The production of one gram of microchips consumes
630 grams of fossil fuels. According to the American
Chemical Society, the construction of single 32
megabyte RAM chip requires 3.5 pounds of fossil fuels
in addition to 70.5 pounds of water.
3. The construction of the average desktop computer
consumes ten times its weight in fossil fuels.
4. The Environmental Literacy Council tells us that due
to the “purity and sophistication of materials (needed
for) a microchip, . . . the energy used in producing nine
or ten computers is enough to produce an automobile.”
When considering the role of oil in the production of
modern technology, remember that most alternative
systems of energy — including solar panels/solarnanotechnology,
windmills, hydrogen fuel cells, biodiesel
production facilities, nuclear power plants, etc. — rely on
sophisticated technology.
In fact, all electrical devices make use of silver, copper,
and/or platinum, each of which is discovered, extracted,
transported, and fashioned using oil-powered machinery.
For instance, in his book, The Lean Years: Politics of
Scarcity, author Richard J. Barnet writes: To produce a
ton of copper requires the equivalent of 17.8 barrels of
oil. The energy cost component of aluminum is twenty
times higher.
Nuclear energy requires uranium, which is also discovered,
extracted, and transported using oil-powered machinery.
Most of the feedstock (soybeans, corn) for biofuels such
as biodiesel and ethanol are grown using the high-tech,
oil-powered industrial methods of agriculture described
above.
In short, the so called “alternatives” to oil are actually
“derivatives” of oil. Without an abundant and reliable
supply of oil, we have no way of making enough
alternatives to the degree necessary to power the modern
world.
“Is the Modern Banking System Entirely Dependent
on Cheap Oil?”
The global financial system is entirely dependent on a
constantly increasing supply of oil. Since as explained
above, all modern economic activity from transportation
to food production to manufacturing is dependent
on oil supplies, money is really just a symbol for oil.
Commentator Robert Wise observes: money equals
energy. Real, liquid wealth represents usable energy. Real
cost reflects the energy cost of doing something. Nearly
all the work done in the world economy -- all the
manufacturing, construction, and transportation -- is
done with energy derived from oil. The actual work done
by human muscle power is miniscule by comparison. And,
the lion’s share of that fuel comes from oil and natural gas,
the primary sources of the world’s wealth.
As Dr. Colin Campbell writes in “The Financial
Consequences of Peak Oil,” the continued expansion
of this wealth is only possible so long as the oil supply
continues to grow: It is becoming evident that the financial
and investment community begins to accept the reality
of Peak Oil, which ends the First Half of the Age of Oil.
They accept that banks created capital during this epoch by
lending more than they had on deposit, being confident that
Tomorrow’s Expansion, fueled by cheap oil-based energy,
was adequate collateral or Today’s Debt.
The decline of oil, the principal driver of economic growth,
undermines the validity of that collateral which in turn
erodes the valuation of most companys quoted on Stock
Exchanges.
Consequently, a declining supply of oil must be
accompanied by either a declining supply of money or
by hyperinflation. In either case, the result for the global
banking system is the same: collapse.
This financial collapse will, in turn, further devastate our
ability to implement alternative systems of energy. Any
crash program to develop new sources of energy will
require a tremendous amount of capital, which is exactly
what will not be available once the global monetary system
has collapsed.
Start planning NOW. What you will do when the oil runs
out. There is no alternative.
PASS THIS ON

There are far more important issues in the world than a bunch of completely self obsessed hippies taking over an ancient monument and calling it their own.

This has got every right to be up here. Sure shit is going down, but theres nowt wrong with showing people having a good time for something other than the latest greatest cause. This year especially as it is 20 years since the battle of the beanfield..lest we forget police brutality against these hedonistic hippies. Let us celebrate our right to gather at this ancient site for free..it don't happen too often.

Middle class dope smoking cider and special brew drinking middle class degenerate rich kids.
This is a total diversion from the class struggle and other real iossues in this world.
These hippies should be tied to the stones and shot!

human spirit in action.

"socialist against whatever" is just jealous cos no-one came to his birthday.

i attended this celebration, and its not taking out of what you call "real" issues but putting in to them. yeah so what if middle class "kids" come along. im sure they left a hell of a lot more connected and accepting then when they came. its not what you call a party, more of a spiritual gathering and celebration of life. peace must come from within, you can not make a person peacefull or impose your dogma and rules upon them but show them how to treat others by example, these gatherings are the best place to do this. love comes from within, we are all children of the earth and should treat each other with love and respect. this event was a huge ispiration to everyone, to show comapssion.
and your idea "socialist against degenerative lifstlyes" to shoot eveyone who attended, you are very lost in the 5 sense dogma of having to subscribe to a certain way of thinking. you should come to the solstice next year and try to understand that hate pushes away while love connects no matter who you are. spiritual awakening is what the world needs. let the world come to you.

People keep telling me not to feed the trolls but this is just too much... particularly from someone that would like to be called 'socialist'.

> Middle class dope smoking cider and special brew drinking middle class degenerate rich kids.

The term 'degenerate' is betraying where you got your theory of culture: it has been extensivelly used by the fascists (in particular the Nazis) to tag all progressive art and culture, that actually challenged the status quo:  http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/arts/artDegen.htm

Since when are the middle classes drank cheap cider and smoked dope? More like cherry and cocaine you mean! The people at Stonehenge were just normal people: teenegers seduced by the free entry, young people looking for a cool evening, older people still remembering the free festivals. People who wanted to have fun, who wanted to get out of their shit day to day job or school, celebrate and LIVE.

> This is a total diversion from the class struggle and other real iossues in this world.

Only in your fucked up definition of class strugle. Class struggle is first and foremost the struggle to get out of wage slavery and the world it dictates for us. A free party, gained through 20 years of battle, is a prime way of doing so. Your problem is that you do not know what you are fighting for: struggle has become the sole reason for your struggle and you have lost sight of the light that used to guide you. The ultimate objective of struggle is to LIVE free and liberate yourself from need and oppression. People at stonehenge do exactly that -- and in the most aware way too.

> These hippies should be tied to the stones and shot!

Nice! So this is your idea of revolution. This is your alternative to partying in stonehenge: millions of hippies shot, while tied to stones. You fucking loser! We have had tens of those revolutions and, no thanks, I do not want more of the same.

What the fuck is wrong with cider your authoriatrian twat.?

While I am always dubious about hippies ( particularly the ones I know....heh heh you know who you are:-) ) I would not like a faux-socialist future without quality West countyry thirst quenchers.

So Fuck off.

After every sucessful socialist revolution, Russia 1917, China 1949, Cuba 1959, Nicaragua 1979 and others anti social degenerate elements were dealt with sometimes harshly for the collective good and the defence of these revolutions against bourgois degenerate elements undermining it. The Bolsheviks were anti drink and drugs and took harsh measures against them, same for the other examples I gave. Some of the finest revolutionaries and socialists in history were teetotal and shared these views. This is still largely the case in most parts of the world who see this degeneracy as a negative western capitalist influence.
"A drunken socialist is as common as a white blackbird" quote from James Connoly (A teetotal) used to be the norm. Whats happened now?

I'm sure Marx would have had a lot of sympathy for your hatred of 'degenerate' lifestyles.

Not.

I personally don't have much sympathy for your degenerate reasoning. Go and have a nice gin and tonic, it'll make you feel much better. Much healthier to kill your own liver than line people up you hate and then shoot them.

Boy this made me chuckle. What the hell have Socialism, Marxism or any other isms got to do with Stonehenge? (Well Zionism maybe - bloody sun worshippers seem pretty clueless about who and what they're supporting). And I might be wrong, but I don't think I'm middle class (if there is any such thing) - I drive a 15 year old beat up Nissan for Grid's sake!!

Anyway, after the 2002 debacle, I've avoided Stonehenge for a few years in favour of Avebury - much more relaxed. But, something called me back to the henge this year and I'm so glad I went. I haven't felt so much love and connectedness in many years. What a difference to 2002 - a time of sickness, jingoism, flag waving and world cup/jubliee bollocks - it was probably the darkest solstice I've been to....and then 'we' invaded Iraq!!

But I digress. This year it was a magical misty morning, the cold air was filled with drumming, music and merriment from people from all over the world - I saw no violence or agression - just smiles and love. "Socialist against degenerate lifestyles"? Must be a terrible thing to feel threatened by such unadulterated happiness? Have you thought of joining the army or buggering off to North Korea or somewhere? I'm sure your own enlightenment event will come some day soon - I'm afraid to say though, that the more dogma and bullshit you carry, the more you've eventually got to shed. You have my sympathy and Love.