25 comments on Maryland Legislation Taps Energy Efficiency as the "First Fuel"
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25 comments on Maryland Legislation Taps Energy Efficiency as the "First Fuel"
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The objectives are admirable, the intentions praiseworthy but my question is are we doomed to applaud the miniscule steps being taken towards a Sustainable Environmental strategy whil;e ignoring the proverbial elephant in the room? While I am encouraged by the actions being taken in Maryland, I cannot help but see it in the wider context of United States refusal to take the lead in driving Environmentla Security policy. There are those who would arge=ue that the U.S is more interested in another type of Security in the form of fossil fuels and so any other concern is secondary to that particular brand of Security. I daresay that a country that has vehemently refused to openly acknowledge the reality of peak oil is worthy of little confidence in matters of Security and Sustainability.
I will be the first to note that I am among those who question but offer no solutions. I am inclined to put that to the fact that I have only recently been named among the converted. I would however like to understand better what kind of world peak oilers envisage were their eality to become part of the mainstream consciousness. Would it be more of the incrementalism that one observes in Maryland? Or will it be more of an Endgame scenario as envisioned by Derrick Jensen?
There is no way to know.
There are 5 or 6 'most probable' scenarios, but even those depend on some flips of the coin - will we avoid choosing sides and creating WWIII? Will we encounter some flu or other bug that is long overdue for pandemic that reduces energy demand via population? Will governments choose to 'buy' energy with more fiat currencies? Will we find some high energy surplus source that allows us to continue business as usual for another 20 years, thus drawing down stocks of other non-renewable inputs like water, biodiversity, soil, etc.?
All scenarios could benefit from efficiency, but efficiency is the answer to none. But it is the low hanging fruit that will extend the life of cheaper fuel so as to buy us time to focus more on what ends we want as society.