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All:<BR>
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Now that high gas prices appear to be with us for good, can those living as though there is no global energy crisis that cannot be easily solved, while they drive their under 20 MPG rigs with abandon, etc., stop emulating the Ostrich? <BR>
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It is a no-brainer that we should be using the energy from fossil fuels to help us establish the infrastructure and technology for non-fossil fuel energy sources that will be necessary to maintain any civilization resembling our current lifestyle for more than a generation or three. Waiting till fossil fuel resourced energy skyrockets in cost will only make the transition to an energy economy mostly based on non-fossil fuel technology much much harder.<BR>
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I am afraid we can eat our cake now and leave a few crumbs for future generations to fight over, and I mean "fight" quite cruelly and literally, or we save some of our cake to support an easier transition for future generations to make more cakes of a different flavor. We most decidedly are not going to have our cake and eat it to!<BR>
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Yes, you profit and growth hounds, it may mean less growth and profit in the short run.<BR>
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However, interfering with the overriding first principles of the religion of profit and growth riles the faithful more than critiques of local churches!<BR>
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Nuclear power may be the best means of transitioning away from a fossil fuel economy, but there is major opposition to this in the USA.<BR>
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This first web link takes a hard look at a very possible future we may be facing very soon...<BR>
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<A HREF="http://www.energybulletin.net/4856.html">http://www.energybulletin.net/4856.html</A><BR>
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>From the link above:<BR>
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"The upshot of all this is that we are entering a historical period of potentially great instability, turbulence and hardship. Obviously, geopolitical maneuvering around the world's richest energy regions has already led to war and promises more international military conflict. Since the Middle East contains two-thirds of the world's remaining oil supplies, the U.S. has attempted desperately to stabilize the region by, in effect, opening a big police station in Iraq. The intent was not just to secure Iraq's oil but to modify and influence the behavior of neighboring states around the Persian Gulf, especially Iran and Saudi Arabia. The results have been far from entirely positive, and our future prospects in that part of the world are not something we can feel altogether confident about."<BR>
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And this link below offers satire on the Bush administrations approach to these problems...<BR>
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<A HREF="http://www.energybulletin.net/7822.html">http://www.energybulletin.net/7822.html</A><BR>
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Ted Moffett<BR>
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