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James Howard Kunstler: Investing In Infrastructure For An Age Of Scarcity
by Jebediah Reed

A few years ago, author James Howard Kunstler famously convinced
petro-billionaire and Bush crony Richard Rainwater to build an off-the-grid
rural compound because the fabric of American society would soon be
threatened by oil shortages and skyrocketing energy prices. The Long
Emergency, Kunstler’s pungent and highly influential book on the subject
of peak oil, won a lot of other smart money converts as well. When a barrel
of crude hit $147 last summer, he was looking more and more like a prophet.
At the present $47, let’s just say the jury is still out.

But it’s hard not to have the sense that Kunstler’s ideas are worth
careful consideration, even if one believes that future oil supplies might
be a bit more abundant than he suggests. For instance, his 1994 book The
Geography of Nowhere was a decade or more ahead of the cultural curve in
describing the structural miscalculations of America’s sprawling suburbs.
Now, even with OPEC cutting production, Kunstler still predicts oil supply
shortages dead ahead. Will we feel the bite this year? Next? The year
after? “Soon enough,” he says.

Naturally, this informs his ideas about what kinds of infrastructure
investments the nation ought to be making. Recently, he discussed that
subject, the tragic nature of imaginary money, and “evangenical roller
rinks” with the Infrastructurist.

JR: So we’re starting a major new round of investment in our national
infrastructure. Can we agree that’s a good thing?
JHK: Well, for instance, I think it would be a catastrophic mistake to
devote a trillion dollars to fixing up the highways. I mean the days of
“happy motoring” in this country truly are behind us. We should be
planning for a period when energy resources are much more scarce. Throwing
that kind of money at roads is not the way to go about doing this.
Lees verder: http://www.infrastructurist.com/2009/04/02/james-howard-kunstler-how-to-invest-infrastructure-for-an-age-of-scarcity/