I do not believe we will get to Ray Kurzweil's proposed "singularity" in which human minds meld with machines to produce, in effect, synthetic human evolution. Our basic problems with maintaining the electric grid argue against that fantasy.

The twentieth century was about getting around. The twenty-first century will be about staying in a place worth staying in.

Americans are suffering so much from being in unrewarding environments that it has made us very cynical. I think that American suburbia has become a powerful generator of anxiety and depression.

For instance, the most common type of "affordable housing" in the world comes in the form of apartments over stores.

The salient fact about the decades ahead is that we are entering a permanent global energy crisis and it will change everything about how we live.

We might hope that the law as a profession does not vanish, because justice may vanish with it - but we could probably do with far fewer lawyers. Since I think agriculture will come back closer to the center of life, I think there will be many vocational opportunities there - especially with the so-called 'value-added' activities associated with food production. That's a windy way to say more local wine and cheese-makers - and probably fewer giant factories producing cheez doodles and Pepsi Cola.

America does not want change, except from the cash register at Wal-Mart.