Applause for oildrum.com pushing a united agenda, but I have reservations about the statements conservatism. I think our situation so precarious and course so fixed that the program advocated would have no hope of succeeding in the time available.
Would new energy techs still have to compete against extraction-cost fossil fuels? Would culture still promote hyper consumption and material accumulation thru misreprentation? Would we still tax effort more than resource use? These are not details that can be worked out later, they are the first real turns of the ships wheel and the measures you mention would have little prospect of making a difference in the 2? decades we might have without them.

Of course you weren't laying out a program, just trying to improve the debate, ahem, soapbox stowed. But i do think underselling the effort reqd is a mistake. People will say its unthinkable, till gas goes up another 50%. Local radio last week had a talkback dj frantic with "well what will we use??" when Royal Auto Club flack told her oil will peak sometime 2008-2020 (he hasn't said it again). There are teaching moments opening up all over.