Business as Usual?

As I continue to read on Peak Oil, I got hold of Heinberg's PowerDown. One of his fundamental issues is that our economy is based on a paradigm of continuous growth. When we finally face the fact that fossil fuels are in rapid decline - which hasn't occurred just yet - we will also have to face the fact that continuous economic growth is no longer an option. What then will we do?

My earlier post included a comment about leadership vs pandering. In my view, our leaders ought to be asking whether or not economic growth is even desirable, let alone sustainable. These questions have to be asked now, because unless we face up to those questions and their implications while we still have the resources to mitigate the effects, we are going to be left holding the bag. Is this the legacy our leaders, and ourselves, really want to leave for future generations? If panderers dive for the ballot box while leaders ask and work the hard questions, it will indeed be interesting to see which, if any, candidate, faces this challenge.