The age of Scarcity

[basilio]

The Mother Of All Price Signals Is Upon Us, Says Investor Jeremy Grantham


Technological advances have brought us cheaper and cheaper resources for the last 100 years, says Jeremy Grantham, one of the world’s leading investment thinkers. But in the last 10 years, prices have retraced all of that benefit, and we are starting to run out of everything — oil, water, fertilizer. Grantham says we are all in for a big readjustment in our lifestyles.

Jeremy Grantham is one of the world’s most successful investors. His firm, GMO in Boston, manages assets of all kinds — $107 billion worth — in markets all over the world. So he’s not a loose cannon operating out of Idaho. He is one of the few people that sold the market before the 2000 tech bubble, and made a point of telling the world why he did. This report is 19 pages long, and represents a tremendous amount of serious research. Jeremy Grantham is an excellent thinker and writer, so it’s worth the time. It’s sobering stuff that makes sense.

http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic...s-upon-us-says-investor-jeremy-grantham/3436/

The rest of the story is equally sobering. It is also worth checking out Jeremy Granthams whole paper.

Implications for economic growth are profound and final. Thoughts ?


http://www.gmo.com/websitecontent/JGLetterALL_1Q11.pdf

 

[prawn_86]

Only read the quoted section there. Its fairly obvious though. A planet only has finite resources and with a population whose growth rate is increasing it is only a matter of time before we run out of things.

The only hope is that we continue to innovate and improve our mining/recycling/farming etc methods.

The World can support about 2 - 3 billion people in a comfortable Western lifestyle

 

[Aussiejeff]

http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic...s-upon-us-says-investor-jeremy-grantham/3436/

The rest of the story is equally sobering. It is also worth checking out Jeremy Granthams whole paper.

Implications for economic growth are profound and final. Thoughts ?


http://www.gmo.com/websitecontent/JGLetterALL_1Q11.pdf

At the bottom of the article, sole respondent to date "BenAiken" makes this final comment -

"My bet is on more government control and meddling."

Ergo, "Mr Market" is increasingly becoming "Mr Gummint" in sheeps clothing..

Couldn't agree more.

 

[RandR]

http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic...s-upon-us-says-investor-jeremy-grantham/3436/

The rest of the story is equally sobering. It is also worth checking out Jeremy Granthams whole paper.

Implications for economic growth are profound and final. Thoughts ?


http://www.gmo.com/websitecontent/JGLetterALL_1Q11.pdf

what a fantastic read, thankyou for posting, would encourage all to take the time (it doesnt take more then 15 mins or so) to read the full report.

How lucky are we to be living in a country with the natural resources of australia. Makes me feel truly priviledged, we and our country will need to act with the utmost responsibility in the future, for ourselves an others around the world.

 

[Aussiejeff]

Speaking of scarcity, here's an interesting site to keep track of from time to time.

Sort of puts into perspective how easy we here in the yeehaar 51st state of Oz have got it when it comes to lifestyle & comforts, compared to some more populous and less "westernised" parts of the globe....

http://www.energyshortage.org/reports

 

[jonojpsg]

Only read the quoted section there. Its fairly obvious though. A planet only has finite resources and with a population whose growth rate is increasing it is only a matter of time before we run out of things.

The only hope is that we continue to innovate and improve our mining/recycling/farming etc methods.

The World can support about 2 - 3 billion people in a comfortable Western lifestyle

Are you serious Prawn!!!??? There is NO way the Earth can support 2-3 billion in our lifestyle - check out your footprint as you live and you'll see that we'd need about 6 Earths to support our lifestyle. That equates to more like 1 billion.

IMO the price imperatives will push us to space sooner rather than later - while it might cost some billions - tens of billions ?? to catch an asteroid and bring it into Earth orbit, the value of having that amount of pure nickel/iron (+ whatever else they get out of it) will cover the cost. Plus once they have the process sorted, it's a rapid reduction in cost to continue it once a space port/elevator is established.

Go ahead and scoff, but unless you're into population control, it's the only way we're going to move ahead.