Those long Russian winters and a couple world wars would give the Soviets a leg up on energy collapse.

As for the question posted: are you ready. Some of us have been ready (or not) for many moons. I know some hippies on the Rio Grande River in New Mexico who have been waiting for the collapse since the 60s. And in the late 80s, the Permaculture movement predicted the end was near. But there’s still oil (if we’re willing to drill in Antarctica and the Arctic, which seems inevitable, and many gigatons of coal. What I’m curious about is the clash between those who want to radially reduce our carbon footprint and those who will drill and mine all that buried solar energy as if there’s no tomorrow. At some point it could get ugly as the “save the Earthers” confront the “Growth is Good” crowd.

is it possible that global warming will become a kind of measure of integrity for people and corporations? one whose immediacy and scientific directness will allow a more direct perception of intent? will inventiveness allow necessary options for transition technologies?
will the free market competition allow enough space and resources for these to emerge? to me it seems a lot depends on how people perceive themselves and the power in their personal domain. i suppose in theory this is the idea that people create the demand. the question then might be - will people get the information they need to redefine their demand. and in general there is a question about the extent and process of moving towards living as responsible and loving beings. something for which there is also information to be sought, sifted through, and bought into….

Does this have to be a mutually exclussive proposition? I believe the switch to a green and renewable energy economy will be a great opportunity for both growth and health. Why not?

VM, you raise an excellent point: the need to be able to access reliable information required to make an informed decisions. Clearly the consolidation of media ownership has reduced this information flow as a consequence of the profit motive. It is hard to create a good medium for advertising from the incumbents if your are writing critically of the status quo. Biting the hand that feeds you, so to speak.

You might be interested in the movement to create Open Source Intelligence. A place to start looking is [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_David_Steele]