– Richard Heinberg, The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies (Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2003), pp. 3-6.
"The strategy for both campaigns so far has been pretty simple: Gas prices are rising rapidly. Blame it on the other guy. Present yourself as the guy who will make gas cheaper.
In the age of the 30-second campaign ad, we've come to expect this sort of approach to complex issues. It's the norm. But America is on the cusp of an energy crisis that is going to redefine the way we live – whether our leaders prepare us for it or not."
"Embracing the notion of stewardship of the petroleum resource could represent a decisive turn for modern medicine. The cheap energy furnished by fossil fuels enabled great strides to be made in medical practice. But increasing scarcity and expense of fossil fuels will present medicine with great challenges, especially at its high-tech end. But petroleum-based products are used all throughout the medical sector. For this reason the medical sector needs to become alert to the energy issue now unfolding. First it would send a strong message to our political leaders, who seem unable to articulate realistic truths about energy. And secondly, the stature of the modern medical profession would be enhanced through a demonstrated concern not just for human life for all of life – for better stewardship and conservation of resources would help ease the strain on many biological systems. It would help to put medicine back in touch with its own natural sources and underscore the truth of the fact that the health of human beings cannot be considered apart from the question of the health of the Earth."
