[Lakegeezer]

The shale era is inevitable, but maybe the carbon can be consumed more cleanly. The energy companies are going to make tons of money hording the last bit of fossil fuel. Maybe the industry should be nationalized for a while? It is not in the interest of the oil companies to have a quick switch-over to a new energy. That would lower its profits and upset its stockholders. Wouldn’t it be nice if the carbon energy industry would re-invest its profits in developing successful non-carbon sources of energy?

It will take at least 20 and more likely 100 years to convert to a non-carbon based energy source, but there isn’t much progress yet. Hydro electric is pretty much tapped, wind farms are failing to be accepted, solar power still isn't efficient enough, and nuclear safety problems are still questioned. Locally, perhaps we could harness the power in the weekend boat wake and use it to power our lights for the rest of the week. J

What ever the energy answer turns out to be, the conversion has not yet really begun. There is no desperation yet – even in the face of shortages and suspicion of climate impact. It would be exciting to live through the evolutionary period where more than 20% of new houses and cars are built to use non-carbon energy sources. It would be the most exciting change since the dawn of the space age.