[Buggy]

Good article, from FOX no less. link

The author obvioulsy is more knowledgable than he lets on. Preparation for a protracted oil stoppage would not include a permanent shift from internal combustion to electric as the author implies.

[DarkDawg]

Look, let's forget about retrofitting cars and all this nonsense for a moment. The biggest single consumer of oil in the world is the US DOD. You simply can't run battleships, bombers and tanks on "green" energy. Bush knows this. Iraq was not about WMD. If a "stoppage" were to happen, there is nothing "stopping" the monster from feeding. It will take the oil it needs to survive from wherever it wants as necessary until it dies from starvation. Think about what the planet will look like once that finally happens.

[Buggy]

Look, let's forget about retrofitting cars and all this nonsense for a moment. The biggest single consumer of oil in the world is the US DOD. You simply can't run battleships, bombers and tanks on "green" energy. Bush knows this. Iraq was not about WMD. If a "stoppage" were to happen, there is nothing "stopping" the monster from feeding. It will take the oil it needs to survive from wherever it wants as necessary until it dies from starvation. Think about what the planet will look like once that finally happens.

Not a pretty picture. And I imangine many USA hater countries who provide usa with oil have dreamed of cutting usa off and watching usa choke. I imagine the only thing stopping them is the fear of attack. But if those countries all got together and slowly choked off the usa until they hadn't enough oil or money left to sustain a long assault???? Well now. That would be interesting.

[AgentR]

Unfortunately for that argument, the US produces much more oil internally than the DoD consumes, and will continue to do so for a very long time.

DoD is not going without.

You may be walking your kids to school; but the military will still be driving, flying, and motoring along.

[DomusAlbion]

+1 to AgentR.

Priority of oil distribution when there are shortages:

1. US military
2. Agriculture
3. Elites
...

We're way down the list and we'll be walking.

[AirlinePilot]

+1 to AgentR.

Priority of oil distribution when there are shortages:

1. US military
2. Agriculture
3. Elites
...

We're way down the list and we'll be walking.

I'd modify that a bit....

2A. would be all emergency services.

[nobodypanic]

+1 to AgentR.

Priority of oil distribution when there are shortages:

1. US military
2. Agriculture
3. Elites
...

We're way down the list and we'll be walking.

speak for yourself. i might be a civillian, but i still work for DoD.

shucks, they'll just get some soldier to do my job. i'll be walking along w/you.

[TheDude]

From his book: The Plan: How to Save America When the Oil Stops — or the Day Before.

I agree, good piece. Intrigued by the notion of Edison and Ford sidelined by corporate intrigue, I looked up "Electrant" and found another very interesting interview: EVWORLD FEATURE: A 'Black' History of our Oil Addiction

I see he has another book out as well: Amazon.com: Internal Combustion : How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives

Internal Combustion by Edwin Black--Home Page

[Buggy]

From his book: The Plan: How to Save America When the Oil Stops — or the Day Before.

I agree, good piece. Intrigued by the notion of Edison and Ford sidelined by corporate intrigue, I looked up "Electrant" and found another very interesting interview: EVWORLD FEATURE: A 'Black' History of our Oil Addiction

I see he has another book out as well: Amazon.com: Internal Combustion : How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives

Internal Combustion by Edwin Black--Home Page

Great, another book I need to read! I haven't finished Twilghlight in the Desert yet.

And yes, the sidelining of an entire alternate electric reality is very intriguing. Instead of being in the pickle we're in, we could be thriving in an electric world. Imagine, everywhere you go the energy supply is electricity. Instead of all of our railways getting paved over and turned into bike paths, they would carry electric trains that would deliver goods. Cities would all be electric trollies, buses and subways. And when off grid, you get places in your light weight electric car. Need to go to the country store for some locally grown food? ONce you get there, you just plug in, put in 75 cents and charge up while you shop. You go to a friend's house off grid, and plug in at a multi plugged post in the driveway. And even if all that electricity was provided by power plants that ran on fossil fuels (coal, diesel, gas, natural gas), we would be nowhere near peak oil today. Where is a time machine when you need one!

[Zardoz]

...Cities would all be electric trollies, buses and subways...

Los Angeles was essentially there, a very long time ago. This is one of the most shameful episodes in U.S. history: Pacific Electric - one of the best mass transit systems in the world at the time

The end of the Red Cars is related to the replacement of streetcar lines with bus lines in at least 45 other American cities, including Baltimore, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, and Oakland, CA. National City Lines, a consortium formed and owned by General Motors, Standard Oil of California, and Firestone, bought up private streetcar lines across the country and systematically dismantled them, replacing electric trolley service, at least partially, with buses. The move came to be known as the Great American Streetcar Scandal.

In 1949, nine corporations, including General Motors, Standard Oil of California, Firestone Tire and others, plus seven individuals, constituting officers and directors of certain of the corporate defendants, were acquitted in the Federal District Court of Northern Illinois of conspiring to monopolize the ownership of transportation companies with the intent of monopolizing transportation services. At the same time, they were convicted in a second count of conspiring to monopolize the sale of buses and related products to local transit companies controlled by the defendants. The court considered the violations to be relatively minor, as the corporate defendants were only fined $5,000, and the individual company directors that had been charged only had to pay a symbolic fine of one dollar each. The verdicts were upheld on appeal.

Trolley (large)

[Concerned]

From his book: The Plan: How to Save America When the Oil Stops — or the Day Before.
I agree, good piece. Intrigued by the notion of Edison and Ford sidelined by corporate intrigue, I looked up "Electrant" and found another very interesting interview: EVWORLD FEATURE: A 'Black' History of our Oil Addiction
I see he has another book out as well: Amazon.com: Internal Combustion : How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives
Internal Combustion by Edwin Black--Home Page

Great, another book I need to read! I haven't finished Twilghlight in the Desert yet. And yes, the sidelining of an entire alternate electric reality is very intriguing. Instead of being in the pickle we're in, we could be thriving in an electric world.

But where does electricity come from? It's not oil... Ummm lemme guess wind and solar is going to run our electric life style including China, India, Africa, Russia, Brazil et el... (factories, cars, agriculture everyting)

SAVED lets do it... We can still do it, unprecedent change, momentus events, "Manhattan type project" etc.. etc.. happy happy happy LOL

[Buggy]

From his book: The Plan: How to Save America When the Oil Stops — or the Day Before.

I agree, good piece. Intrigued by the notion of Edison and Ford sidelined by corporate intrigue, I looked up "Electrant" and found another very interesting interview: EVWORLD FEATURE: A 'Black' History of our Oil Addiction

I see he has another book out as well: Amazon.com: Internal Combustion : How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives

Internal Combustion by Edwin Black--Home Page

Great, another book I need to read! I haven't finished Twilghlight in the Desert yet.

And yes, the sidelining of an entire alternate electric reality is very intriguing. Instead of being in the pickle we're in, we could be thriving in an electric world.

But where does electricity come from? It's not oil... Ummm lemme guess wind and solar is going to run our electric life style including China, India, Africa, Russia, Brazil et el... (factories, cars, agriculture everyting)

SAVED lets do it...

We can still do it, unprecedent change, momentus events, "Manhattan type project" etc.. etc.. happy happy happy LOL

Though futile conversation, I believe we have been talking about what might have been. How to become electric now, well that is probably another exercise in futility. More than anything now, it just makes me sad.

[Concerned]

From his book: The Plan: How to Save America When the Oil Stops — or the Day Before.

I agree, good piece. Intrigued by the notion of Edison and Ford sidelined by corporate intrigue, I looked up "Electrant" and found another very interesting interview: EVWORLD FEATURE: A 'Black' History of our Oil Addiction

I see he has another book out as well: Amazon.com: Internal Combustion : How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives

Internal Combustion by Edwin Black--Home Page

Great, another book I need to read! I haven't finished Twilghlight in the Desert yet.

And yes, the sidelining of an entire alternate electric reality is very intriguing. Instead of being in the pickle we're in, we could be thriving in an electric world.

But where does electricity come from? It's not oil... Ummm lemme guess wind and solar is going to run our electric life style including China, India, Africa, Russia, Brazil et el... (factories, cars, agriculture everyting)

SAVED lets do it...

We can still do it, unprecedent change, momentus events, "Manhattan type project" etc.. etc.. happy happy happy LOL

Though futile conversation, I believe we have been talking about what might have been. How to become electric now, well that is probably another exercise in futility. More than anything now, it just makes me sad.

Don't feel so bad. Exponential growth of population and economy would have de-railed any notion happy electrical future forever and ever. Perhaps we could have delayed things for 10-15 years perhaps we would have sped up warming of the atmosphere.

[Buggy]

Don't feel so bad. Exponential growth of population and economy would have de-railed any notion happy electrical future forever and ever. Perhaps we could have delayed things for 10-15 years perhaps we would have sped up warming of the atmosphere.

All too true. What we need is a good old fashion plague!