Cherenkov,

While I usually would not take the time to even reply to someone who refers to those who differ from his worldview as "sociopaths", what the heck, it's a long holiday weekend, so I will waste some time....

First, I notice you did not enter the discussion of whether peak oil means "no oil", and instead veered into other realms, other problems, essentially restructuring the issue. So be it.

You said "What is truly annoying is this belief that we all be living pretty much as we are except our cars will be small with electric engines. THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!"

Perhaps, but we may want to avoid "letting the perfect be the enemy of the good."

At this time, we have people driving large cars with large gasoline engines. While small cars with electric engines" may not be perfect, at this moment, even getting folks to move away from large cars with large engines is a tough enough hill to climb. "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" say the Budhist thinkers.....gee, they may be right.

"Those people who wish to squander cheap energy in order to perpetuate the techno-fantasy world are essentially sociopaths."

Leaving aside the name calling, the issue is transportation. This is not normally viewed as a sociopathic human desire but goes back to the roots of human history. That is why most early cities were built near rivers or the ocean. It explains the existance of canoes, sailing canoes, Chinese junks (exquisite engineering there!). It explains the sailing ships, the clipper ship, and finally, the change over to steam, the railroad, the steamships, and finally autonomous vehicles such as autos and trucks. Imagine that, 10,000 years of sociopathic desire for transport!

Now the time may come when people will give up the "sociopathic" need for autonomous transportation. They may have to. If communal transport is truly efficient, safe and comfortable, they may even want to. But that may be awhile away. In the meantime, the attempt at seeking at least a less wasteful path does not seem "sociopathic".

The other three issues you hurled out were,
FINITE LAND
FINITE FRESH WATER
FINITE CARRYING CAPACITY

First, on carrying capacity. I do not know what the carrying capacity of the Earth is. I suspect you do not either, but if you do, I applaud your wisdom.
Population in the developed world, minus immigration, is flat or dropping.
One assumes that if access to birth control and cultural barriers were reduced in the rest of the world, this would be the case there to. Either way, it's connection to using electric cars seems to be only this: If we can use small electric engines instead of giant gasoline engines, the carrying capacity of the Earth may be enhanced.

On fresh water, I am not certain that automobiles are the prime user of fresh water in the world. If I am wrong, correct me.
Much fresh water is wasted, indeed. Simple measures such as low water use toilets, efficient showerheads, and grey water systems can save a great deal of water. Less wasteful water use in agriculture, water recycling in industry, and better catch and use of rainwater all could have huge effects. Would it not make more sense to encourage those than going on wild attacks against mobility? Just a thought.

Finite land. Again, I am certain that highways are not the prime consumer of land. However, it is true that enhanced use of transport makes "urban sprawl" a greater possibility, as we see in sub-urbanization. However, it would be very hard to push the total population back into city centers, as some seem to hope for. The overcrowding was what helped many folks want to leave the city centers to begin with. With a larger population, it would make the Warsaw ghetto seem almost humane by comparison to the city centers we would have if we attempted to force the population back into them. Honestly, many would fight to the death to avoid such a fate.

Verticalization and somewhat greater density in many areas would reduce land use, and of course, more efficient farming practices could create food on hopefully as few acres as is needed for the job. Again, we seem to be veering greatly away from the idea of greater efficiency automobles.

"They do not care about the holistic effect of continued technology use."
?????????????

I can only assume that you must mean that what is needed is a ceasing of "continued technology use". This of course is the "primitivist" and "anarcho-green-primitivist" dream. I will leave it to you to attempt to persuade the rest of the world they must abandon all technology, which for many would mean instant or near instant death. Many will fight you to the death, because to accept your agenda would mean death. They would have nothing to lose.
But, it is your right to attempt to gain converts to your cause. I will not wish you luck on this venture, however, as I am one for whom it would mean a very short lifespan.

You would think I have gone long enough, but I must address one absolutely fascinating thing. The absolute fascinating raw hatred of individual transporation. What causes exactly that to draw out such passionate hatred?

I was talking to a woman the other day, and mentioned that I had used the air conditioning in my home only about 4 days last summer, when I had guests, a summer that was quite hot. She very quickly said that hers was on ALL summer. Even though she was out of the house most of the time, she said, she had cats, and they could not survive a closed house in those hot summer months. Likewise, the house must be kept comfortably warm for the cats in the winter, meaning she does not turn down the thermostat. Think of that, heating and cooling a 3000 plus square foot home for a couple of cats!!

I began to think about the "sacred cows" of humans that escape the raw passionate hate that is reserved only for the automobile:

Pets. How much do they consume in heat, air conditioning, food, medical attention?

Lawns: Speaking of your freshwater, pesticides, herbicides, land. Millions of acres of carefully cultivated land that produces grass clippings!

Appearance: Jewelry, accessories, clothing, leather goods, cosmetics. How much consumed in mining for metals, pearls, silver and gold, gems, animals for leather goods, handbags, billfolds, chemicals for cosmetics?

Exotic foods and wines. So varied I cannot even hope to explain.

Excess packaging on all of the above.

Vacations. How many years would it take for the "little blue techno toy" to match what an airliner would use going to Europe from the U.S. one time?

Do you see what I mean? It is the automobile alone that is the target of an almost psychopathic (opps, I'm getting into your turf :-), hatred.

Is it really the energy use that is the issue? Or is it the idea of personal mobility, the freedom to leave one place and go to another, to seek employment and education at some distance? Does the idea of people, regular people having some freedom to move about strike something deep in the elitist psyche? What exactly....it's an interesing line of thought, indeed...

Oh well, enough fun for tonight! :-)

INSANE!!!!

It's an old Internet truism that you can spot the crazies by their use of capitals and excessive exclamations.