What Problem?

One would really have to not be paying attention to be unaware that the planet was in the midst of an energy crisis. But, that’s OK, we had people we were paying to pay attention, right?

Problem was maybe their jobs depended on their not paying attention. I know that’s pretty cynical, but where are we? We’re hustling to make up for many years of negligence. This did not happen overnight, it’s been coming for a long time, and it’s no big secret we need at least three planets to sustain our growing consumption of not just energy, but all natural resources.

And THEY are still trying to tell us everything is Ok, no climate change; plenty of oil, water’s fine and besides a free market will adjust and find new technology to cope. That’s the biggest lie of all. It is really risky and expensive to develop new technologies and if there is one thing private enterprise doesn’t like it is an expensive risk. Some things take government. To quote NYU’s Martin Hoffit, “Most of the modern technology that has been driving the U.S. economy did not come spontaneously from market forces,” giving as examples jet planes, satellite communications, integrated circuits, and computers. He goes on to say, “The internet was supported for 20 years by the military and for 10 more years by the National Science Foundation before Wall Street found it.”

‘Free market forces will handle it,’ is one of those things that sound good only if you say it really fast. We don’t have the luxury of entertaining fast talk from people who are paid by or make a profit from the exploitation of resources we can no longer afford to waste or events like climate change they try to turn into a shell game.