End of western economic model.


Beginning of muslim economic model. No usury. Not sure how this will play out apart from the fact that global leadership will transition away from current hegemon.

Most alternative energy systems (I'm thinking nukes, wind, csp, pumped hydro energy storage etc) have high capital costs and low running costs so fit the pension investment model perfectly. Your pension contributions go towards building the energy system and when the time comes to claim your pension, you could even claim it in kWh's of electricity. If electric transport and heat pump heating expand as much as I expect them to, this could cover a large share of living costs.

I suppose you could always make a similar arrangement with a local farm / CSA and bank work hours in your younger years in exchange to food. Maybe the 'electro, petro and gaso' can be launched as global currency.

Also relating to the story about carbon monoxide poisonings highlights the benefits of a heat recovery ventilation system in maintaining good air quality inside a building, which IMO will become increasingly important in the future as more people live in the same space, disruptions of food or energy supplies will increase the chance of diesease outbreaks.

There is a series of videos from Amory Lovins where he talks about advanced energy efficiency along the lines of the passivhaus and hypercar, well worth watching if you have time
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6669123891673213585&ei=Fq1jSY7-...