Friday, March 7, 2014

Right wing economists can't see the low-hanging fruit, the private auto.

Reasons for our Energy Predicament – An Overview | Our Finite World: "A lot of “peak oilers” would like to think that somehow it is possible to “get off at the mezzanine,” and have a viable economy similar to today’s with a small amount of expensive renewables, plus a continuing supply of fossil fuels. I have a hard time seeing this actually happen. One problem is the likelihood that fossil fuel supply will decline quickly because of low price. Another potential problem is a major cutback in credit availability making transactions difficult; a third issue is governmental problems, as taxes fall short of what is needed to fund programs."
This writer is brilliant, but not completely correct. It is actually possible to mitigate collapse. We say mitigate, because collapse is already ongoing for millions of people. If the private auto were abolished, as fast as practicable, there would be such a savings it would make the conventional economist's head spin.