Sterling Newberry :: So We Want A Revolution

Let us begin from the obvious truth: there are a billion people who seek to join the affluent society, primarily in China. Our current means of extracting this life from the fruits of the earth requires oil. Right now, the developed world outside of the United States supports 500 million people on 25% of the world's capacity for oil. A simple multiplication - there are 6 billions in the world - means that we would have to produce 3 barrels of oil for every one we produce today. There is no such capacity available, and even if it were, the pollution would cook the world and flood almost every ancient capital and booming new metropolis on the planet. This is the overwhelming fact from which there is no escape, not in this world, nor to any other: we cannot support the population of the world at a tolerable standard of living with the society and technology we have. The economy we have is inadequeate to the challenges we face.

Sterling is one of those people who really shows you where the relationship between eccentricity and genius lies. I like his writing quite a lot, even if -- like the rest of us -- he could use an editor from time to time. This whole piece is worth reading and thinking about.