<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On 17 Jan 2006, at 9:27 PM, Keith Thomas wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Andale Mono" size="4" style="font: 14.0px Andale Mono">It would be nice to think that democracy in mass society would come up with the best solution. That works OK for traditional politics, but not for peak oil and climate change. It matters not a whit what the majority - or even ALL - the people say or favour.</FONT></P> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV>Politically it DOES matter what a large majority thinks. A government which ignores strong public opinion risks being kicked out and it's actions negated. Governments can lead but it's risky. The present Commonwealth Government has taken a risk with Iraq, Telstra and industrial relations presumably because it thought the majority opinion was wrong and people would come round to their way of thinking.<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>We want the government to take action to steer us away from the disaster which peak oil will bring. To do so we need to bring more people to the view that this is a problem which must be faced urgently.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Decisions such as the Gungahlin Drive Extension might not have been made if the likely future of fuel supplies was considered.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>At least Canberra planning now looks to be trying to keep development closer and cutting back on continual sprawl.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Tony</DIV><DIV><BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Andale Mono; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>phone : 02 6241 7659 | <A href="mailto:me@Tony-Barry.emu.id.au">mailto:me@Tony-Barry.emu.id.au</A></DIV><DIV>mobile: 04 1242 0397 | <A href="http://tony-barry.emu.id.au">http://tony-barry.emu.id.au</A></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN> </DIV><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>