The past doesn't offer much "luck" in the transition: after all, the major "oil shocks" of the 1970s which resulted in the tripling of gas prices almost overnight led briefly to government investments in solar energy--which vanished, also overnight, when the administration changed.
The threats to the oil supply since then, Iran, Iraq, the upheavals in the Niger Delta, and many many more, have led to nearly endless wars but not to major changes in American consumption patterns--or to a major migration to the alternative technologies.
Even electric cars require significant quantities of oil in their manufacturing process, not to mention oil-fired electrical plants to charge their batteries (which depend on rare-earth metals most of which come from China. . .).
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Date: 2011-02-23 07:50 pm (UTC)The threats to the oil supply since then, Iran, Iraq, the upheavals in the Niger Delta, and many many more, have led to nearly endless wars but not to major changes in American consumption patterns--or to a major migration to the alternative technologies.
Even electric cars require significant quantities of oil in their manufacturing process, not to mention oil-fired electrical plants to charge their batteries (which depend on rare-earth metals most of which come from China. . .).