During WWII we had critical needs for what sugar and flour we could produce, so we gave people limited quotas. No matter how rich you were, you could only buy a limited amount of sugar. Now, we have a critical need to reduce CO2 production. Our survival depends on it! Why are we not willing to apply a quota to how much CO2 each person can generate? When one considers the inefficiency of China’s production and the travel, this would not only reduce the CO2 generated from the two largest polluters on the planet, but would help re-establish American industry.

Much of China’s CO2 production would disappear without the support of the American consumer. Although I doubt if the current crop of my fellow citizens has the strength or intelligence to stop purchasing goods from China, I still choose to maintain hope. We need to look beyond the price in dollars and get serious about our impending extinction.

“A prevalence of fuel-cell cars will not occur (if ever) until the last drops of crude oil trickle out 30-40 years from now...And don't worry, nobody will starve because of biodiesel and corn/prairie ethanol consumption. 80% of this country is still farmland, people.”

The last drops of affordable crude will trickle out in less than a decade (even the Wall Street Journal has acknowledged this). And, while we have abundant so-called farmland, it is mostly devoid of topsoil. I have watched with horror as the Central Valley of California, the vegetable basket of the nation, has lost its twenty feet of organic, rich, soil and now consists of just dead dirt and dust. If not for the use of petroleum-derived fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides we would indeed find ourselves lacking in food. When the oil gets expensive, what will we pay for the energy to grow our food and transport it? Will we be able to feed ourselves? I fear that our current intellectual and physical laziness will haunt us, our children and our grandchildren.

Oh well, at least we are winning the war on the environment.

Americans are like a middle-aged man who has lived his entire life depleting the trust fund granddaddy left him. When faced with the need to live within his means, he cannot comprehend what that means because he never has. Energy wise, we have been living on much more than is deposited on the planet for quite some time. Unless we crack the fusion-for-energy nut very soon (unlikely before mid-century), we will have to cut back to a level of energy consumption that only the oldest amongst us have ever experienced.

We can do it, but we won’t unless we do it together. If we allow the rich to continue to overproduce CO2, then no one will cooperate. Remember how we behaved during WWII? People had rationed gasoline, flour and sugar. It didn’t matter how wealthy you were you could only have the same amount of these commodities as everyone else. The result was a nation that pulled together and defeated the greatest menace we had ever seen. We can do it again, but quotas will again be required.

On the positive side of quotas (aside from saving our skins), the obesity, diabetes and heart disease epidemics will disappear. Have you ever seen pictures of the crowds of Americans celebrating the end of WWII? No fatties in sight. It is amazing how healthy people can get if they use more of their own muscle power instead of motors for everything. If we fail to cooperate, no need worrying about what future generations will think of us; there won’t be any.

I just love it how people can find an excuse for not giving up their car. Cycling in pantyhose? How about changing on arrival. Twenty whole miles? A reasonably fit person can cycle that in eighty minutes. I’m not saying it will be easy. In fact, you would be an environmental hero just for trying, and if you succeed you would no doubt inspire many others to emulate you. Many would copy you just because they would want to have legs like you would have if you gave up the car.

Practical solutions are going to be outside of your experience, since the American experience is what is bringing us to near certain extinction. We have to stop being afraid of doing what doesn’t seem “normal”. Let the house heat up to 88F. Let it cool to 55F. Revel in the fact that you are strong enough to take it. Ride your bike to the grocery store even when all of your friends think you are crazy. You’ll feel better and will be doing something practical to slow climate change