Suburbia, Oil, And National Security

James Howard Kunstler ponders our built enironment and our insatiable thirst for cheap foreign oil.

1 minute read

April 18, 2002, 8:00 AM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech


"Now, six months into the 'War on Terrorism' our denial level concerning how we live -- and the peril this places us in -- remains sky-high. This is especially true concerning oil, the commodity underlying all of our current living arrangements and economic relations. Except on this subject, denial devolves into delusion."The truth is, we are nearly up against the wall where oil is concerned. As I write, the big cheese of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has proposed a one-month oil export boycott by Islamic nations against the US. Suicide bombers happily give their lives up for the chance to injure Americans and Israelis; do you suppose that members of that culture would not give up some revenue, too?"Alternative fuels are not going to solve these problems... I wish my fellow ex-hippies and environmentalist friends would give a little less of their time to projects like hybrid vehicles and concentrate instead on the walkable community side of the equation. That is where the big payoff in conservation lies for this nation."

Thanks to Dan Zack

Tuesday, April 16, 2002 in Orion Online

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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