Once energy problems gain traction, there will be a large new class of economic losers, and consequently a lot of social turbulence.

I abhor the word "consumer." Consumers, unlike citizens, have no implicit duties, obligations, or responsibilities to the common good. It's a degrading term. The use of it degrades the public discussion.

Ridicule is the unfortunate destiny of the ridiculous.

At the heart of our misunderstanding and infantile behavior is the wish for a miracle cure.

The task we face is reorganizing the systems we depend on for daily life in a way that is consistent with the realities coming down at us.

I'm serenely convinced that we are heading into what will amount to a time out from technological progress as we know it.

The "Green" community, the enviro people, are preoccupied with running all the cars differently. Our techno-grandiosity has us gibbering about high-speed rail - which we don't have the capital for anymore - but nobody is interested in repairing the existing rail system, which would be far less costly and hugely beneficial for us. In short, we are acting cluelessly. And life is tragic. The clueless usually suffer.