The Role of Time

Chaos has observed that changing carbon-spewing lifestyles, by changing the corresponding vehicle fleet, public transportation system, energy sources, and the like, is not a "just in time" process. To the contrary, it seems to take many years (and lots of money) and determined effort. The difficulties mentioned in this article in the Times are illustrative of this principle. Communities around the nation (including Austin, Texas, for our regional readers), although willing to begin altering their vast energy consumption find it difficult, since the infrastructure built up over many years precludes easy conversion. For the counterexample, consider the fine system of public transportation now existing in the city of Portland, Oregon; said system was begun approximately thirty years ago. The people in this country, by and large, are now beginning to vaguely realize that they are going to reap what they've sown over the last thirty years. Changing the way people move around and the energy sources relied upon to power the complex society would be a vast, expensive, and long undertaking, even with a national consensus, which of course is lacking at the moment. Chaos expects gradual awareness to take hold, albeit much too late to do much.