A quote from Obama

In his campaign in the state of Oregon, US presidential candidate Barack Obama, has stated that:

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK..."

This statement strikes at the heart of the Worlds problem: rampant consumerism, the unequal distribution of resources and most importantly of all, the attitude towards this. The attitude which in the developing world just revolves around 'not caring' and short term thinking.The World has a real energy crisis and it may be that Obama has realized this. To say this out loud is the only responsible thing to do, I have to admit, he's got guts! I sincerely hope he is not committing political suicide with his remarks. Still the problem is much more widespread than the articles in the media present it. I'm referring to the energy problem and peak-oil. The Oil Drum has a good article by prof. François Cellier on the ties between population growth, world economics and energy demand.

Other intereting articles can be found here and a video here.

Jamais Cascio writes a very interesting article about the role of environmentalism. He clearly points out the pointlessness of the "save the planet" meme. Environmentalism should really be focusing on trying to preserve human civilisation, not the Earth and the current state of its ecosystems. As he accurately puts it: "The grand myth of environmentalism is that it's all about saving the Earth. It's not. The Earth will be just fine. Environmentalism is all about saving ourselves."
Of course preserving ecosystems and the availability of clean water supplies, topsoil, etc. is of the utmost importance. Preserving the environment in order to support human activity on the planet, ie. sustainable living should be our greatest concern. "Human civilization could not withstand and recover from the same kinds of assaults the planet itself has shrugged off in eons past. We remain entirely dependent upon myriad Earth services and systems, from topsoil and clean water to carbon cycles and biodiversity. Activities that undermine those critical services and systems quite literally threaten the survival of human civilization."