Peak Oil News - Life During Wartime

...In recent years, we have witnessed an accelerating degeneration of the U.S. political system, from rule of law to rule by force. Most of us have avoided confronting the shocking meaning of this change. As Al Gore writes in The Assault on Reason, the executive branch, with the complicity of the legislative and judiciary branches, has dismantled much of the separation of powers carefully guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. At the same time, we have embarked on a “War on Terrorism” that can never be won since our enemy is not a state but potentially anyone who chooses violent means of resistance, along with seemingly unending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

...The sudden fall of the Berlin Wall showed that power structures collapse when the multitude swarms against them. Unfortunately, without advanced planning, such opportunities do not lead to positive outcomes. If we are approaching a similar breakthrough in the West, we require an alternative vision and practical systems that support a shift to a healthier way of life. Some stirrings in this direction include movements like Transition Town in the UK, where local communities are preparing themselves for the effects of peak oil and climate change.