I am pasting here an address to a thoughtful and clearly written article. I would like you to read the article and comment. It introduces sanity to a subject that has been hijacked by very partial interests...some of whom are willing to resort to outright lies and defamation (you may wish to go to iview and watch last night's Media Watch for one very blatant example).

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/21/a_roadmap_to_our_energy_future?print=yes&hidecomments=yes&page=ful

dIBBSY1000,
Thanks an interesting read.
A different perspective to be sure. lots of good stuff for me to research and think more about.
The two issues that at hand here are
Will it be enough and quick enougt to arrest the the tipping point?
Will business be prepared to make the initial change/expenditure or will they simply cash cow. I suggest the latter.
Clearly more work required.

Hi Examinator,yes, I do believe it is possible...

I am uncertain as to how well you may know Lovins, or his cohorts at the Rocky Mountains Institute, but I can recommend him whole heartedly, along with the authors of Cradle-to-Cradle, and another favourite of mine, Charlie Hargroves and Micheal Smith's 'The Natural Advantage of Nations"...and along with the steak knives...there are a lot more.

When I am feeling blue and fearful for this little blue planet, a read tales of hope written by people who have been quietly tackling these issues for the past 30 - 40 years. It is very heartening to realize that their work IS bearing fruit. There are innumerous examples of companies implementing resource conserving changes (ok, driven by the profit motive) which have enhanced their position in the market.

Most of those most strenuously fighting such changes are inept or reactionary operators...There are some who simply don't know, or are only just becoming aware of the advantages of persuing resource minimising strategies, and the plain dumb politicos playing to populist audiences who are being systematically lied to and misinformed.

If you are interested I suggest asking your library for 'The Natural Advantage of Nations' and though it is a little out of date - Factor Four - by Ernst von Weizsacker, Amory B. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins
Earthscan, London, 1997.

The fight has been going on for a long time...Its only just hotted up to the point where there some with opposing views who have started to become shrill, and no doubt the rear guard action is only just getting under way.

Informed debate is the key. I confess I have little patience for those who have never taken the time or made the effort to become informed yet blythly say "I don't know much about this, but this is what I believe and I'm sticking to it". My response is start informing yourself. Harsh eh?

Thanks for your considered reply, I look forward to the next installment.

dibs1000;
The merging of the problem of climate change and peak oil has
been suggested many times, ie both have the same solution.
ie Changes in the way we use/generate energy.

However while climate change has been taken up with enthusiasm the
case of oil and coal depletion is a non subject with the politicians
and media. I think the problem is they can see a solution for climate,
well they think they do, but they cannot see a solution for energy.
Therefore they just do not want to know. I have spoken to politicians
and they made it clear that they do not want to discuss it.

They have left it too late to do much about the problem so we will
face some variety of collapse of the economy and climate change will
not matter as fossil fuel use will reduce on a fairly large scale.

Dear Bazz,

Fair comment...many believe that 'the Roman Solution' will take care of things...on a global scale. To be honest I sometimes wonder in my darker moments if as a species we don't deserve to perish...we are after all the only species knowingly conniving in our own downfall.

Seems harsh that we will also be taking a heck of a lot of others with us...but that's life.

Rome failed when population and consequent consumption outstripped resource capacity - some think as a combination of over-stretched transport and land degradation due to over-grazing and cropping.

The Roman provinces in North Africa had been the granaries of Rome...now they are deserts through deforestation and bad farming practices. Sound familiar?

We as a species seem hell-bent on gobbling up anything and everything we can, living for the now. BUT, I DO keep hoping that we may have learned something from history. That perhaps this time we, as a species, may think about where we are headed, and start demanding action...forcing pooliticians and our so-called leaders to act for the benefit of everyone, not just the rich and powerful who have a vested interest in the status quo.

Dear d1bbsy,

Thank You for the link.
Amory Lovins - certainly has some thought
provoking ideas.

I fully agree with your take on things.
Nobody can deny that the planet has a finite
amount of resources or that it can tolerate
only a limited amount of pollution.
If world population continues to grow rapidly,
if industrialisation spreads around the world,
and if pollution and resource depletion
continues at an increasing rate - we need people
like Lovins looking at - where human society is
heading and coming up with alternatives in solving
the problems.

The most optimistic answer would be that, one
way or another, sweeping social changes await us.