Al Gore ‘writes that “we have reaped many benefits ” from intensive use of fossil fuels. True dat. The Gore family in particular. Until at least a few years ago, Al Gore was reaping the benefits of $500,000 worth of shares in Occidental Petroeum who were drilling for oil in the Colombian rainforest, and against the wishes of the lands U’wa Indians ( who threatened to commit suicide f the drilling continued. Even though the’very nature of the Earth’s climtae’ is changing a good oil man and fervent free market capitalist is not going to be so vulgar as to opine that we might have to change ‘the very nature’ of the economic and political system. But perhaps this is where the debate should be. We none of us know what to do. But the debate should be in the arena of social change and how can we make sure that the post-fossil fuel world doesn;t have the same inequalities ad injustice in it as the last hydrocarbon order. Far safer to have the debate centred on consumer choices, choices which are available to those with money. Far safer to talk about carbon offsets - see carbontradewatch.org for the lowdown on that - and everythng that keeps the status quo and the coal and oil burning and the powerful still in power. And if we are going to have to tolerate a green movement, says Power, let’s make sure its spokesman is a good oil man who isn;t going to say anything rash.