Alas, we can replace 20% of US petroleum usage by slowing down, but won't.

This kind of remarks always amazes me. They are perfectly valid but I always think we can't assume that because these are true now they will stay true forever. People won't slow down because they are in denial and don't see any harm. This will last only for so long.

There will come a day where it will dawn on the people that they cannot afford the price of gas and there are line ups at the gas station. It will dawn on them that there is a reason for the high price and line ups. Denial will no longer be a sustainable attitude. At this point some unthinkable things such as slowing down and taking the bike to go to work will become routine.

As long as the majority of the population has a death-grip on the past, it is going to be hard to get people to readily accept conservation.

Conservation doesn't sound like much fun to most people. They have never really been exposed to the possible alternative lifestyles that don't place industrial consumerism as the core pursuit. It is going to be hard for Westerners in partiular to accept it and there will be much social and economic disruption and chaos to go through to get to whatever it is on the other side. It is the most intersting times indeed.