1 in 6 US worker is directly or indirectly dependent on the automobile.

But a majority, at least, of those workers are involved in aspects other than the internal combustion engine. There will remain a need for personal transportation vehicles until and unless we reconfigure our urban landscapes for mass transit.

What matters is not the eventual transition but the speed of the transition compared to the speed of the impact of peak oil. Transitioning to battery driven electric vehicles powered by wind and solar thermal energy could allow the existing 1 in 6 to remain employed while providing a large boost to capital spending, which is highly stimulative, and permanently reducing our need for foreign oil. It would also create a significant number of permanent, domestic high wage jobs in the energy sector.

If we can largely transition to self sufficiency Modern Monetary Theory can deal with the costs much more easily. But we still need to deal with the oversized, life draining financial sector. One last round of above ground n.........NO! surely we can do better than that, can't we??

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."