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[tom <tom AT honeychrome.com>]

Ah, the point is not about the problem but about how people deal with  
it...  and introducing ideas that might deflate bubblicious notions  
of science-fiction salvation is not an ideal way to 'deal with  
it....'  Yeah, OK, some nerdy genius at MIT or somewhere may think up  
a way to thwart the laws of thermodynamics (heck, Gallileo and others  
throughout history have thwarted established 'laws' of understanding  
before) and all will be saved, but I'm not going to assume it is some  
kind of inevitability.  Heck, I'd love things to go on as they are  
and keep getting bigger, better, bolder...  I personally love  
internal combustion and have spent way too much time learning about,  
tinkering with and souping up fossil-fuel based engines.  Not to  
mention my investment in information technology.  I love my car, my  
motorcycle, my power tools, my computer and all the other gadget-crap  
in my life!  Do I want that 'investment' to evaporate?  No, but I do  
see that it likely will.  Do I want to make the same sort of  
'mistake' (not entirely a mistake as I did get a good deal of  
satisfaction from and have a good deal of fun working on various  
vehicles and other engines as well as figuring out computers, etc.)  
again as far as devoting my time and energy (and seeing my tax  
dollars go) to largely dead-end energy fantasies?  I don't.  I'll now  
put my efforts into known sustainable efforts like planting trees,  
etc.  They've been providing energy, fiber and food for millions of  
years.  Of course planting trees isn't the catch-all solution to  
every energy problem, but it does have a better success rate than  
most of the alternatives.  And I'll put equal effort into building  
bonds with my neighbors and creating a real community of mutual  
reliance.  So that MIT nerd saves 'life as we know it' and comes up  
with unlimited energy to fuel perpetual and unlimited economic  
expansion and growth- fantastic!  I'll still be richer for the  
investments I've made in natural and social capital.

Tom