Oil

It is a sad state. We have been warned. We are facing the double threat of global warming and the end of fossil fuels, oil in particular. We have been given an incredible gift. If we use it wisely, then we can set our world up for ever. If we squander it, then our society will go the way of the Roman Empire, Easter Island, and the Maya. We have been warned. Hubbert, Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, Jared Diamond, Ed Mazria, all have or are raising the red flag, yet the world cannot seem to wait to use it up. There is no recognition that there is a problem. No one is in the least bit interested in making hard choices.

The cost of the Iraq War today is $451,200,000,000. At $100,000 per system, we could be powering 4.5 million homes using photovoltaics with that investment. The $7 trillion national debt that the Bush administration has racked up in the past 7 years be powering 70 million homes. All this would not eliminate our need for oil, but would go a long way towards reducing our dependency and creating an economy based in renewables.

In the time of the Romans, one of the worst sins that could be committed would be to squander one's patrimony. Our excessive reliance upon fossil fuels without investing them towards a sustainable future is squandering our patrimony.