Thanks for the link, a bit dense but quite interesting -
'we live in a civilisation that's as dependent on oil as the Easter Islanders were on wood. check out what happened to them after they cut down the last tree'
this is evident, I totally agree. But corporate industry lives on short-term profit, when did they ever think about the future?
Let's consider this and other of the aspects of the thread:
The key point of the research is HOW TO CONTINUE consuming like planks in the horribly wasteful amounts as we are today. I am still sceptical regarding the vast differences in the 'sustainability' department and the research carried out.
I mean, let's take food. There's plenty of it now to feed the whole world but vast amounts are destroyed or rot every day in the countries we live in and YET we are told we need to produce more!
Now, if oil is going to be so scarce, that means, it will equally be more intensely controlled in the hands of a few, and that explains it when you say 'they are well aware of that, oil will just become more profitable'. Another short-term strategy to get hold profit in a difficult situation while the rest of the world will be suffering from energy shortages.
The failure of alternative technology is that we still understand it in the same wasteful way as conventional one. Vast projects like solar cells filling a desert or wind farms destroying a landscape are nothing but a replacement. Instead, as mentioned here, I believe in self-sustainable projects where each house supports itself. This has NEVER been in the interests of the energy industry as it means its disappearance as providers. But the only solution would be to sustain oneself. I will not shed a tear for all those lights that glow all day during Christmas (much as I respect people's feelings) on the shopping precincts of the developed world. And if your house runs out of electricity, then don't leave the lights on when you leave. Isn't a completely green house a great idea? Industry is just not interested when the last years of extreme profit from oil are upon us. Otherwise, common sense for humanity would be 'let's start using the energy we have now in order to build cells for green houses!'
If this catastrophe entails a whole change in the attitude and way of life for us all then all the better.
Surely lots of organic material would burn for personal heating but wouldn't that tiny amount of pollution be compensated by the lack of use of oil on cars and industry? Or does that mean that coal would become normal again? And isn't coal scarce as well?
In any case, if the root problem is not tackled (that of why the US consumes or wastes twice as much energy as Europe - per head - and we don't live particularly worse than in the US) then we might as well just resign to more nuclear power stations saying 'there is a real energy crisis', 'we need more energy'. There just isn't. It's just the dead end we seem to find ourselves in. Still, nuclear power stations cost a hell of a lot of money and take a hell of a long time to build, so if this crisis is coming, then I agree with you it will be a big disaster we have not got ready for, but it will also inevitably mean a real revolution that we will unwillingly have to go through.
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