The public may think a little about biophysical limits but in practice breathes a sigh of relief when it's business as usual. A majority claim to want carbon penalties on producers but don't want their food and power bills to go up. My suspicion is that Peak Oil not weird weather will force the issue within a few short years. It seems likely that price of fuel and heavily fuel dependent goods will rise faster than incomes in the coming decade, say $3 a litre petrol and $5 a loaf of supermarket bread. Meanwhile pay packets for those who have jobs will have scarcely risen. That's when the public will demand action.

It seems likely to me a raft of currently unfashionable ideas will come to the fore. Outside the finance sector these include migration cuts, nuclear power, fuel rationing, food stamps, abandoning feed-in energy tariffs, carbon tariffs (customs duty) on imports from greenhouse rogue nations, urban farming using sewage and a return to public ownership of some utility firms. In short a return to war time mentality because the business-as-usual model has failed.

"My suspicion is that Peak Oil not weird weather will force the issue within a few short years."

I think you are right there Taswegian. We are just plain incapable of changing things of the magnitude necessary to achieve a sustainable world before it is forced upon us.

But by the time it is forced upon us, it will basically be a matter of survival of the fittest, a breakdown of law and order a massive fracture to social cohesion and the ability of governments to govern and police to police.

And that's about the size of it!

Boogedy, boogedy, another day, another OLO Jeremiah pointing the finger and screeching at us to mend our wicked ways.

THIS ARTICLE IS NOT BY ME. PLEASE REMOVE IT FROM YOUR WEBSITE.

WARWICK MCKIBBIN
ANU

Apologies! I attributed this to the incorrect author. It has now been corrected.
Susan - ed

Clownfish - Gold!