June 20, 2010

"Two Roads Diverged...."

I want to recommend these two posts by my friend, Dave Johnson, one which lays out the path our country took in electing Reagan and the other choice we had. Because before Reagan was elected, Jimmy Carter laid out two paths this country could take: one for a future designed to build real freedom and purpose for our country where how we tackled the energy problem could be used as a marker on how well we were doing as a society, and the other path based on consumption and a reliance on oil which he predicted would lead to a badly divided society incapable of solving our common problems. Back then we didn't realize that a carbon based economy was laying the seeds for killing the planet, but we did know that by relying on fossil fuel, our society would be put on a path that would enrich a few based on dirty energy and would require wars that would be needed to keep our country swimming in oil (which sadly, it is doing literally today).

So watch Carter's speech and reflect on where we would be today if we had only heeded his words.

Posted by Mary at June 20, 2010 12:59 AM | Energy | Technorati links |
Comments

I remember the oil shocks. I also remember being shocked myself when Americans started buying and driving huge gas-guzzling monstrous cars and trucks. Insanity.

Reagan removed the solar panels from the White House roof. Enough said. Our leadership and our corporate overlords failed us.

Posted by: shrimplate at June 20, 2010 07:19 AM

The 'Malaise' speech is so prescient that it's beyond frightening. While I still think that many of the problems of the Carter administration were self-inflicted, it's increasingly clear that those problems had nothing to do with Carter's vision.

Posted by: Magpie at June 20, 2010 01:07 PM