GEO: Separatist movements outside the US

The separatist grumblingsin the United States, which looks a lot more like political sour grapes and knee-jerk, cutting-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face talk radio cannon fodder than a bona fide political movement, could do well to look around the world where Separtist dreams have at least a snowball's chance you know where in passing:  places, like Spain, Canada, The UK... and even there it's not looking bloody likely.

Take Spain, for example.  They have much more of a gripe with the Spanish Government than, say, Texas does in the US.  The Catalan region pays out WAY more than they get in from the federal government, whereas Texas just about breaks even.  More to the point, the Catalans have their own language, whereas in the US much of the US would like to pretend that Texans speak a different language, but Texans are more likely to claim they speak "American" than "Texan."  That doesn't help the separatist cause much.  But sit back and watch the wacky hijinks ensue if a movement to declare "Texan" a language ever unfolds.  It will be almost as wacky as a movement to get Texas to secede (while the capital, Austin, wages a counter-movement to remain part of the US- I couldn't make this up if I tried, people).

Voters in Spain's Catalan region punish leader who called for independence referendum

http://news.yahoo.com/voters-spains-catalan-region-punish-leader-called-independence-073013214.html

Resources: US to become a top producer of oil in the next 5 years? China and global coal consumption.

The US is already a top oil producer.  We just don't have the huge proven reserves of other countries, like Iran or Saudi Arabia.  That being said, our technology is indeed increasing our reserves, both potential and proven.  The question is, at what point will our technology run out, and we will be left with stones from which we can get no lifelblood for a fossil-fuel economy.  And, at what cost to our environment at teh regional and global scale.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/business/energy-environment/report-sees-us-as-top-oil-producer-in-5-years.html

China and global use of coal:
http://science.time.com/2013/01/29/the-scariest-environmental-fact-in-the-world/?xid=newsletter-weekly

GEO: Dependency Ratio in one Graph

Here's a shiny little graph that lets you see how dependency ratio is slated to look in selected countries in the future. 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/11/06/164408156/old-people-versus-babies-in-one-graph?sc=nl&cc=pmb-20121108

Ask yourself- what is this likely to mean?