I always enjoy a good energy discussion, but I'm a little dismayed when someone claims to come to the conclusion that we can have a renewable energy economy without lifestyle changes, and then doesn't deal with any of the really hard problems. National grid? Electric cars? Pfft. We already know how to do the first, and the second is closer every day. What about electric over-the-road trucks? Container ships? Jet airliners? Trains we can do. What about bulldozers and all the stuff we use to shape the earth to be the way we want it? Will we be able to use electricity to heat asphalt for road repair? For some of these things the answer is surely yes, but for a lot of stuff centrally generated and transported electric power just won't cut it. There's a staggering amount of energy in a gallon of gasoline, and part of why we are where we are as a species is because you can carry a gallon and a chainsaw five miles into the woods and clear half an acre in a day.

And then we could talk about rubber substitutes, plastic, ammonia fertilizer from natural gas, pharmaceuticals, etc., etc. That tasty carbon-rich brew is in fact the underlying basis for the entire Western way of life.