Crash Course

The Crash Course is the world's most concise video seminar on how our economy, energy systems, and environment interact, and how they will impact the future.

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Growth and the Upcoming Iranian War

Second Leg of the Housing Decline Set To Begin (or Why Economists Are Dangerous To Your Wealth)

Deep Impact: Why The Deepwater Disaster Spells Serious Trouble

Is Gold In A Bull Market?

Deflation Is Not On The Menu

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Welcome.

My name is Chris Martenson. I'm not an economist. I'm a trained research scientist, and a former Fortune 300 VP. Most importantly, though, I'm a concerned citizen.

I think the next twenty years are going to look very different from the last twenty years. This site is my attempt to explain why.

You should start with the Crash Course. This series of videos is, I think, the clearest and most straightforward explanation of how our economy, energy systems and environment interact -- how we got to where we are today, and some reasonable expectations for the future.

Thanks for visiting my site, and hope to see you back here often.

Why Register?

This website is not about Chris Martenson -- it's about creating a space dedicated to examination, discussion, and learning.

Join today to access our thriving community. Registered members receive important email updates, exclusive content, and can participate in important conversations about our future.

What Should I Do?: The Basics of Resilience (Part 2 – Water)

Note:  This is part of a series on personal preparation to help you answer the question, "What should I do?"  Awhile back, we polled our most frequent visitors to the site and asked what improvements would be most helpful to our readers.  The strongest response was that we should make it easier for people to start preparing.

So we've decided to do exactly that.  This series on how to build personal resilience into your life is designed for people who are just beginning the process.  Those who have already taken these basic steps (and more) are invited to help us improve what is offered here by contributing comments, as this content is meant to be dynamic and improve over time.  Our goal is to provide a safe, rational, relatively comfortable experience for those who are just coming to the realization that it would be prudent to take precautionary steps against an uncertain future.  read more »

Daily Digest - July 29

  • U.S. Debt Not Sustainable
  • Now Let Us Stress-Test The Central Banks
  • Daily Growth Index Surpasses 3% Contraction Rate
  • Jim Rickards Compares The Collapse Of The Roman Empire To The US, Concludes That We Are Far Worse Off
  • Job Subsidies Also Provide Help to Private Sector
  • Gold Weekly
  • California's Building Bust Choking Off Jobs
  • Europe's €30 Trillion Headache
  • Lloyd's 360° Risk Insight Sustainable Energy Security Newsletter
  • Unable To Store, FCI Wants Food Grain Exported

 read more »

Pumps On Full

I am truly amazed at what I am seeing out there in the markets these days.  I also understand and share the frustration of the many analysts who know what "should" be happening but is not.

What should be happening is massive, self-reinforcing deflation caused by debt destruction and resulting from the housing bust and retreat of consumer borrowing.

These are harrowing figures:  read more »

Growth and the Upcoming Iranian War 

Note: This report is for enrolled members only. Join now to gain full access to all Martenson Reports.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Executive Summary

  • A war with Iran seems likely before the US elections in November.
  • The US has committed an act of war in deciding to embargo Iranian fuel shipments and international financial activities.
  • The "urgency for dealing with Iran" is driven more by oil competition than military crisis.
  • The US militarily occupies or diplomatically controls every strategically-located oil producer in the Middle East except for Iran.
  • The most probable explanation for the sudden concern about Iran is likely centered over energy and the 'requirement' of growth that our economic and financial systems demand.
  • Seeking militarily-secured access to oil halfway around the world is a weak strategy.
  • An Iranian war has the potential to severely disrupt developed economies due to another wild oil-price spike.

These days I am troubled by the renewed beating of the Iranian war drums by the West and Israel.  Troubled, in part, because the world economy needs a war with Iran right now like it needs a hole in the head.  Or perhaps I should say a hole in the barrel, because the most likely immediate outcome of an Iranian war would be a diminution of oil traversing out of the Persian Gulf and a gigantic leap in the price of oil.

Both would add terrible stresses to the global financial system at this particular moment.

The last time I wrote about the urgent beating of the Iranian war drums was in December of 2009.  Then, too, we saw a near-perfect coordination of the media in breathlessly "reporting" whatever the US and Israeli military elements wanted communicated.  Basically it boiled down to something like this:  "THE US MUST IMMEDIATELY DEAL WITH THIS URGENT THREAT RIGHT NOW - NO WAITING - IT IS THAT SERIOUS!!!"  Sorry for shouting there, but that's how it came across to me before it all, oddly and quietly, slipped off of the headlines and out of our collective consciousness, until just recently.

 read more »

The Crash Course Seminar - Elements and Benefits


Duration: 00:20:51 — File Size: 12.52 MB

Want to know what a seminar offered by Chris & Becca Martenson offers? Here they talk about the seminar in a 20 minute podcast that describes their approach, some of the things you will learn at the seminar, and the benefits of attending. We live in truly interesting times and your best hope for a vibrant future rests with your ability to connect with others so that you can share the load and make changes at your own pace and on your own terms.  read more »