I think action is needed to prevent climate change and to mitigate against peak resources. However I don’t think we should go back to the stone age to do so. By pairing good governmental regulation with the invention and investment of smart business, important steps can be made without destroying either our livelihoods or the world.
Bad Science blog Depleted Cranium has some good posts on ten things Environmentalists rail against that is probably a waste of time and on what would be a more productive use of their protests. Things like Flaring, underground coal fires, Landfill gases and ship pollution are all things that could cut a huge chunk out of greenhouse gas emissions without denting our lives too much. Overall, we need to be encouraged to make everything we do more efficient, to give economic and social penalties to unneccessary waste. In many cases, this can often increase profits rather than losing them. There are some excellent posts on the Oil Drum related to this, especially those about Relocalization of Agriculture, The Limits of growth and an analysis of smaller cars and Jevons paradox – as cars get cheaper and more efficient, will the world just buy more and end up using just as much energy?
I published a dkos diary on these 10 things at http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/4/0335/41387/235/449289
I have some problems with the sweeping generalities of Depleted Cranium and the subtext of some of their 10 ideas. In general, however, seeking the strategic points is a good idea.
I’d probably agree with you, I think some of the points are less useful than others. The ‘alternative places to save’ list is far more effective though and would be a good place to start, although once those easy cuts are done inevitably there will be some more direct impact choices to be made.
My username on dkos/eurotrib is darrkespur, btw.