To Conserve or Not to Conserve

Several major media outlets have dipped into the PO & GW dilemma: LA Times, Newsweek and Guardian ran interesting articles/columns on global warming and energy use. Articles state the basic facts:

• Economic growth is largely based on growing energy consumption
• Developing countries have no plans to stop their energy growth
• Industrialized countries have no plans to start conserving
• Oil is running out (actually only Guardian states this, using experts like Chris Skrebowski)
• Oil is being replace by plentiful and dirty coal reserves (in China and in USA)
  

Then they throw questions up in the air: Can we change fast enough? Do we have the (political) will to change? Can we also curtail our emissions to fight the climate change?

The conclusions vary: we should conserve, we can't conserve, it's useless to conserve, etc.

It seems that in Peak Oil & Global Warming handling we are entering the phase of denial or even rationalising., i.e. "we can't conserve or it makes no sense to conserve".

Years 2007-2008 with rebounding oil prices, more eyes on climate news and further likely resource wars look to be the watershed for these issues. I'm banking my money on no conservation, more oil wars and cosmetic emission cuts. Then again, I seriously hope I'm wrong.