Here is a video of James Kunstler talking about his book, The Long Emergency on Colbert Report.
His premise is that life inthe US is going to change because we will not have the energy (oil) necessary to sustain all the cars and 18-wheelers and suburban living that we are currently used to.
He says that ethanol, sun, coal, and wind are not going to be enough.
I just hope we have enough energy to heat and cool our houses and our food.
To be sure, certain luxuries are going to go away...According to the Air Traffic Controllers Association, "on any given day, more than 87,000 flights are in the skies in the United States." That's clearly a luxury we won't be able to sustain.
Plus,recreational boating and such will viewed more as extreme luxuries as people pay more and more for energy.
This is a long time coming. I've been talking about sustainability for 15 years. Glad to see it finally hitting the mainstream. Maybe people will understand that the Earth is not an Everlasting Gobstopper (a Wonka candy that, despite how long you suck it, will not diminish).
DDDDDDDDDDDDD
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I watched this video first before checking out Kunstler's blog post. The dude is a seriously better writer than he is an TV interview, unless of course Colbert just threw him off his game with his buffonery.
I appreciated your compliements on my ability to interview people and draw stuff out of them. And watching Colbert kick off this interview, I thought he was going to go down a serious path. He did a really good job setting it up.
Then, however, instead of letting Kunstler close the deal (tell his story) as a good interviewer does, Colbert rudely interrupted him and really told his own story (made his jokes).
I felt Colbert's interview style was reminescent of Kunstler comment's about us being a nation of overstuffed clowns, or whatever he said, led by the hand of Ronald McDonald (beautiful stuff, by the way.)
Colbert is a sharp guy, and perhaps he is just giving the people what they want, similar to the way I commented I though perhaps Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, et. al, were giving the people what they wanted in Revolutionary times.
On a somewhat related sidenote (I think), I recently enjoyed a pint of Stephen Colbert's American Dream, a flavor of Ben & Jerry's. It was really good.
Cheers.
Ralph
Colbert rarely lets anyone tell their whole side of things. I watch him just about every day, and he typically interrupts with, as you say, "buffoonery".
Kunstler is definitely a good writer. I also like his "Eyesore of the Month" photos on his website.
As for giving the people what they want? It's Bread and Circuses, baby!
Good work on the ice cream report. We'll look for it.
DDDDDDDDD
Post a Comment