[quote="johnbrickner Resource wars? Yes, they will be fought . . . But not before hell is released at least on a limited scale.
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Not wanting to appear as a complete doom and gloomer it is possible we have another outcome. The current trend leads the US and China on a confrontation as both compete for diminishing resources/energy. Especially if US domestic and foreign policies continue the same track. The only way out I see is for America to lead the way for the rest of the world towards a peaceful, voluntary, but significant decrease in it's energy and resource use.
Suggested by Richard Heinberg (PowerDown, 2004) are mandated electrical power generating efficiency & US automobile mileage requirements, incentives for renewable energy options (wind, solar, biomass etc.). Effecting a decrease in energy dependency. As energy dependency is decreased, then the military aspects of US foreign (oil interests) policy decrease. Military requirements to protect oil interests can be reduced and the savings then reinvested in accelerating transition to sustainable-energy infrastructure. The continued impact of energy/resource depletion then serves to propel continued efforts forward.