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Writer, engineer, and collapse expert Dmitry Orlov has been arguing for 25 years that the USA is heading for a disaster worse than the one Russia suffered after the implosion of the USSR. His new article “The Technosphere chokes on a chip” suggests that a shortage of microchips could set off a cascade of disasters that would greatly degrade, if not eliminate, the US empire…and maybe even technological civilization:
“When looking around for a first casualty of collapse, the global semiconductor industry makes a strong candidate. It is very energy-hungry and extremely capital-intensive. It relies on a steady, reliable energy supply—wind and solar won’t cut it because of their intermittency. It relies on the availability of highest-purity crystalline silicon and rare earth elements that are sourced from just a few places in the world, the main one being China. And it requires a highly disciplined and skilled workforce. The largest exporter of integrated circuits by far is China (Hong Kong and Taiwan included) followed by South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia. The US is only the first in a long list of minor players in niche markets.”
Other questions raised in this interview include:
Are the COVID lockdowns really about suppressing consumption? If so, will they have a significant long-term impact? And if not, will those responsible for COVID and the lockdowns unleash something worse?
What aboiut those who, like Kevin Galalae, view COVID as just the latest depopulation measure? https://www.patreon.com/posts/46142817
What’s Dmitry’s take on Ron Unz’s thesis of COVID as neocon biowar on China and Iran?
Since civilization (at least material civilization) hasn’t collapsed as fast as Peak Oil advocates thought it would, what might be a plausible collapse timeline?
Can we compare the ethnic issues that contributed to the break-up of the USSR with those currently afflicting the USA?
Since Dmitry Orlov and Vladimir Putin agree on some things (like US collapse) do they also agree that whoever gets true AI first will rule the world?
Finally…Is the Quidnon houseboat project still afloat?