WAR, PEACE & PEOPLE

Saturday, May 06, 2006

PEOPLE: Truth-teller James Howard Kunstler – Author of ‘The Long Emergency.’ Read it, (panic), then act! It’s not fiction.

Current polls state that not only two thirds of American dissatisfied with the way President George W. Bush is doing his job, but no less than three quarters believe this nation is heading in the wrong direction.

What makes these findings all the more compelling is that, on the face of it, we are in the middle of an economic boom. Growth is heading towards 5%, unemployment, at 4.7%, is low, consumer spending remains high and business profits in most sectors are excellent. Yet 75% of Americans have a queasy feeling in their stomachs. Last night’s Big Mac? Probably not (though don’t underestimate the lethality of Fast Food).

Kunstler, a thoroughly entertaining writer, won’t ease your anxiety, but he will intrigue you as he builds a convincing case that we really are running out of both oil and natural gas, that the touted alternatives from hydrogen to ethanol are not going to provide an adequate alternative, and that the present car based, 11 trips per house per day, American Way of Life is unsustainable.

In particular, he slams suburbia and all its related ills – everything from the lack of public transport and sidewalks to strip malls to the prevalence of fast food outlets (which are, themselves, only sustainable through the availability of the cheap oil which underpins factory farms). He points out that the current pattern of suburban living is only possible if you have a car and cheap fuel – and that just won’t be the case in the future. He also points out something that is really irrelevant to his energy thesis: much of American suburbia is just plain ugly, particularly when compared with the cities, towns and villages which can be seen in Europe.

Kunstler is not all doom and gloom, but he does foresee a long a painful period – hence the title of his book, ‘The Long Emergency’ – while we evolve towards a less energy intensive way of life. He points out that we are going to have to do this anyway or the consequences of Global Warming, and other environmental damage, are going to be catastrophic. Hurricane Katrina was merely an early warning.

Vice President Cheney recently remarked that the American Way of Life was sacrosanct (or words to that effect). Implicit in his remarks is the opinion that Americans don’t want to change – and will not change. Well, Cheney has been wrong before, and, I believe is wrong again. And he is also not doing the job which he was elected to do – which is to inform Americans fully and truthfully about the issues, and then to provide effective leadership so that realistic solutions can be found.

I believe that Kunstler is entirely right in his prognosis though I don’t agree entirely with his conclusions. However, late in the energy day though it is, I do believe that Americans will welcome a comprehensive energy policy, even if aspects of it are initially unpalatable, because anyone, who does not have sawdust between his ears, knows that something has to be done.

But, just like Vice President Cheney, I have been wrong before.

By the way, Kunstler, who can be very amusing, suggests that one reason the Bush Administration seems to be so little concerned about the Energy Crisis – except politically - is because so many of its key members believe the end of the world is coming so they will be saved by the Rapture; which I guess they will drive to in their SUVs.

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