The Misanthrope’s Comer

It is a reminder of the industrial world’s utter dependence on energy what happens when it becomes scarce. The consequences aren’t only a shortage of energy, but derivative afflictions. Here is the lead from today’s Slate’s “International Papers,” by June Thomas.

“Y2K in the U.K. The predictions of the Y2K soothsayers have come true in Britain as the nation’s infrastructure collapses: Supermarkets are rationing bread and milk! Hospitals are running short of drugs! Banks have only a few days’ supply of cash on hand! Mail deliveries are threatened! Factory production lines could be halted, schools closed, and buses and trains grounded! Even the billion-dollar Millennium Dome seems to be snared by the curse, as the government contemplates its demolition only a year after it opened. The cause of the crisis, however, is not the millennium bug. The country is short on petrol.”

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It is a reminder of the industrial world’s utter dependence on energy what happens when it becomes scarce. The consequences aren’t only a shortage of energy, but derivative afflictions. Here is the lead from today’s Slate’s “International Papers,” by June Thomas.

“Y2K in the U.K. The predictions of the Y2K soothsayers have come true in Britain as the nation’s infrastructure collapses: Supermarkets are rationing bread and milk! Hospitals are running short of drugs! Banks have only a few days’ supply of cash on hand! Mail deliveries are threatened! Factory production lines could be halted, schools closed, and buses and trains grounded! Even the billion-dollar Millennium Dome seems to be snared by the curse, as the government contemplates its demolition only a year after it opened. The cause of the crisis, however, is not the millennium bug. The country is short on petrol.”