Yes we have issues. Yet, unlike 99% of the world we have viable and nearly inexhaustible options (a few OECD countries do).
The non-OECD countries of suffering do not have the efficiencies , regulations, funding or incentive to change and now the are not only the largest (and growing) CO2 and global emission generators, they now exceed OECD countries
From the wire:
“Energy consumption from non-OECD countries has passed OECD countries for the first time ever,” reports Chris Mayer, with BP’s latest Statistical Review of World Energy report in hand. “OECD stands for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. There are 30 members. Essentially, it is a group of “Western” countries, including the U.S and U.K., along with several other European countries.
“Non-OECD countries include everyone else -- most notably, China, India, Russia and Brazil. So you can look at the OECD broadly as developed countries versus the developing countries of the non-OECD.
“The Asia-Pacific region alone accounted for 87% of consumption growth. China by itself accounted for 75% of the increase. Even through the economic bust, Chinese demand for oil still rose 7% in 2008.
“My guess is that these lines won’t ever cross again, unless the membership of the OECD shifts. The world has changed in a fundamental way. The focus is east, not west.”