[NorthOfTheCity]

I will give you an example of high energy prices and ways countries were able to manage. Look at the EU gas has been over 2 euros/litre for years there for everyone that would equate to 10 dollars per gallon roughly and they manage but they don't drive gas chugging vehicles most drive economy cars or use bus and train transit systems. The only people who buy trucks are the ones who really need them. People just need to make the small changes and this energy crisis won't be nearly as painful.

People sure have a vested interest in things being "the way they always were". Can't really blame them, though. There's quite a bit to lose. But I guess most people were born into the "grand ways" of post war Americana and know nothing of widespread economic hardship, at least on a personal level.

That's why the second article in the OP is so important for everyone to understand. Heeding it's message requires that one pull the ol' head out of the sand and deal with the new reality. It describes a way of life very similar to that described by my mother as she struggled just for basics in rural America during the first great depression.

As for Europe's ability to manage high fuel prices; their societies were designed around perpetualy high energy costs. Ours was designed upon the assumption that there would always be cheap energy.

 

[NorthOfTheCity]

Maybe thats why we start to make the shift to that euro style of transportation and lack of wasted energy now while we still have time.

There will be a shift in the way transportation works in the U.S. to be sure. The problem is that it will be forced on us in a way that won't be pleasant. Changing the layout of American society away from expansive suburbs located far away from industrial centers and the jobs they bring was something that should've been undertaken decades ago. It is far too late for such a sea change...

 

[NorthOfTheCity]

Maybe alot of jobs can be managed though Technology. I know lots of jobs that could be done from home that force people to go to the office. Mine included, there is no reason why I have to come out to this place to work with tech today. That way people can continue to live in the suburban communities.

I've been "telecommuting" (old term) for years. But there are still times when I needed to go into the office during the week. The upshot is that while this practice could be encouraged, it is a matter of too little, too late.

The real weakness of our spread-out, suburbanized society is food distribution. There are soooo many stores and supermarkets all over everywhere that it takes a tremendous amount of energy to keep each and every one of them continuously stocked. As deisel prices rise, there will eventually be a need to reduce the number of delivery points. This will result in "food distribution centers" where people will need to go to get food. And they won't be conveniently located close to your neighborhood like that Albertson's a mile away...

 

[NorthOfTheCity]

Ok, I'll bite...

What in the world do you guys (Lex & MickeyC) do that require all the cool hardware? Are you running your own data center?

I've been developing DOS / Windows apps for a long time and all I've ever needed was a halfway decent development PC with a good IDE (like .net) and away I go. My latest stuff has been an accounting app used to manage very large, multi-billion dollar real property portfolios, commercial and residential. All I used was a dev PC and a small network to test it all on. It works great and people love using it. Well, most people do - there's always one or two in the crowd...

Don't get me wrong, I think it's really cool that you have all this. I'm just curious as to what its purpose is, if its Ok to ask...

 

[NorthOfTheCity]

I can definately relate about having multiple screens available. I just use one monitor and have my source, output, reference stuff and database junk (SQL Server Mgt Studio) all running in different windows at the same time. It can be a pain switching back and forth, especially if I've got more than one project going. But, I guess I'm still in awe of being able to do what I am able to with windows after years of character based OS's like DOS or Unix...