PowerSwitch

People say that I am hard core about some of this stuff but I know because I have been to Davos, and I?ve sat with Bill Clinton and I?ve sat with Bill Gates and I?ve sat with Tony Blair and I?ve sat with Nancy Pelosi. I?ve sat with all these people who we think are in charge, and they don?t know what to do. Take that in: they don?t know what to do! You think you?re scared? You think you?re terrified? They have the Pentagon?s intelligence, they have every major corporation?s input; Shell Oil that has done this survey and study around the peak oil problem. You think we?ve got to get on the Internet and say, ?Peak oil!? because the system doesn?t know about it? They know, and they don?t know what to do. And they are terrified that if they do anything they?ll lose their positions. So they keep juggling chickens and chainsaws and hope it works out just like most of us everyday at work. That?s real, that?s real.

when the inevitable collapse of the pollution-based economy, the oil-based economy hits, the people who are able to jump off of that ship and onto whatever ship comes next, will not be the poorest people and the people of color. They will be the rich, Northern, white elite. The question is, are we insisting that they build a big ark for everybody to jump on, or will it just be a little, slim life raft for themselves? That?s the question, and we know, the Pentagon knows, that the oil economy will come to an end.

DR: What is the urgency for positive change?

VJ: Every minute or year that we delay putting the majority of our resources and the majority of our resources behind the solution, you don?t just lose that minute or that day, because every minute of the day you?re not there you?re also continuing to put your weight and your energy on the problem. You can only either accelerate the problem or accelerate the solution. At this point, the urgency is severe. Systems do hit tipping points of breakdown. I?m not the best person to speak about that, but I?ve read and been informed that there can be cascade effects where by one way of looking at things you?ve got fifty years or a hundred years, when in fact, when you actually work out the model, you really have ten years or fifteen years, because things do hit tipping points when you have cascade effects. So, for once, Chicken Little is right.

clv101 wrote:My general position is that TPTB know the score. However there are some inconsistencies. Why for example is the UK pushing so hard for aviation expansion instead of rail expansion? Building a European style electrified rail network would hardly be a vote loser!

biffvernon wrote:You may be right, Andy, but I'm not sure that we get anywhere by taking the cynical appoach. It might be better to pretend that politicians are honest folk with the best interests of their citizens at heart. Then the logical thing to do is to enable them to do the right thing by assuring them of our votes if and when they do the right thing.

Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem unprecedented in our history. With the exception of preventing war, this is the greatest challenge our country will face during our lifetimes. The energy crisis has not yet overwhelmed us, but it will if we do not act quickly.

It is a problem we will not solve in the next few years, and it is likely to get progressively worse through the rest of this century.

We must not be selfish or timid if we hope to have a decent world for our children and grandchildren.

We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. By acting now, we can control our future instead of letting the future control us.

Two days from now, I will present my energy proposals to the Congress. Its members will be my partners and they have already given me a great deal of valuable advice. Many of these proposals will be unpopular. Some will cause you to put up with inconveniences and to make sacrifices.

The most important thing about these proposals is that the alternative may be a national catastrophe. Further delay can affect our strength and our power as a nation.

Our decision about energy will test the character of the American people and the ability of the President and the Congress to govern. This difficult effort will be the "moral equivalent of war" -- except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not destroy.

I know that some of you may doubt that we face real energy shortages. The 1973 gasoline lines are gone, and our homes are warm again. But our energy problem is worse tonight than it was in 1973 or a few weeks ago in the dead of winter. It is worse because more waste has occurred, and more time has passed by without our planning for the future. And it will get worse every day until we act.

The oil and natural gas we rely on for 75 percent of our energy are running out. In spite of increased effort, domestic production has been dropping...........................(continues)

It may be that PO instigates a kind of automatic devolution of power to local Councils from central Government.

Vortex wrote:

It may be that PO instigates a kind of automatic devolution of power to local Councils from central Government.

Oh please not.

Local government is more corrupt, less transparent and generally scummier than central government.