peak oil frustration

[stormsewer]

Sometimes I'm a little frustrated with the people on the peak oil mailing list I subscribe to. Many of them don't want to hear any discussion of any potential solution to our energy troubles other than returning to a pre-industrial society. In fact, many are cheered at the thought, somehow thinking such a "simpler" lifestyle would be better. I find that disturbing.

I'm a believer in the ability of technology to make our lives better. Anyone who isn't has been paying very selective attention to developments in human welfare over the past few hundred years. Certainly problems have cropped up along the way, but proposing to solve them by returning to the medieval period is a cure far worse than the disease. As Bertrand Russell said, "Intelligence, it might be said, has caused our troubles; but it is not unintelligence that will cure them. Only more and wiser intelligence can make a happier world."

Comments

[mike rengel (from livejournal.com)]

Well said, sir. Reverting to a pre-industrial way of life would be a step backward. The solution, in my very non-expert mind, is two pronged: develop and favor renewable, non or minimally polluting energy sources; dial back our 1st World over-consumption. But technology has overwhelmingly improved people's lives - the facilitation of ideas for scientific, political, medical, and philosophical reasons, for one.Technology is also good for uniting people. Via improvments in travel and communication, it plays a massive role in making the world smaller, and while not completely, far less provincial. Technology brings us closer in person and thought, which I'm convinced also makes us less sectarian and violent. Sure, technology also fuels horrific, mass-scale warfare techniques...so it's a double-edge sword. But I digress. The "fix" for peak oil isn't "back to Medieval Times we go!" It's more about changing course and simultaneously adopting sane, reasonable personal energy usage methods and policies. (Sorry for the early-morning ramble, hopefully this makes sense. I'd be happy to elaborate or clarify if you want!)

[stormsewer]

Definitely. The enhanced means of communication that technology allows is, I think, the main reason things have gotten so much better. If that goes, whatever optimism I might have had about the future goes with it.

Certainly we got really good at killing people in the 20th century, but if you compare population growth in that century to any preceding century, I think it's clear that what was accomplished in keeping people alive far outstripped the strides we made in killing them.

Of course I'd be happy to hear more of your thoughts on this. Sorry I didn't respond earlier- I don't often check the email address I receive comment alerts at.