And, wonderfully, a programme to invest in housing and vehicle energy efficiency, renewable energy, and infrastructure, paid for by massive tax hikes on the rich, will help solve the current recession and the oil crisis.

Yes, exactly! I don't know if you've been following Zander1's excellent Global No-Confidence Vote diaries over on Booman's side of the frog pond, but that's basically the point I've been trying to make in every single one. Yes, the oncoming financial collapse, the impending end of oil, could be catastrophic. But they could also, with the proper government policies, serve as the impetus for possibly the greatest economic revolution since the 19th century.

It seems to me that, when writing about these issues, it's far too easy to look at the state and policies of our modern right-wing governments and despair, and only write about the coming doom. I think this is counter-productive. Doom-and-gloom will only push people into the candy fantasyland spun by the right wing. What environmentalists and economists need to do is provide a down-to-Earth but appealing vision of a good solution, a green future that's within our grasp if we dare to reach for it.