Humans - An adapable breed
"Why should blue-collar North Dakotans who are finally getting some much-needed jobs from the Bakken bonanza let coastal white-collar elitists tell them that renewables are really the way to go?" - Or vice versa?
The only fair thing to do is let it play out on its own. While oil is still cheap enough, people will use it. Natural gas is the new darling and may have a nice run for a few decades. If excess carbon actually starts moving the thermometer, maybe regulation on new nuclear technologies will ease up and usher in a new much better nuclear age. With a few more improvements in efficiency and cost, rooftop solar may get to the point that everyone buys them because the payback will be relatively short, thus decreasing overall demand.
It's hard to say what will happen in the future but I will believe that nothing will happen so rapidly that we cannot adjust in some manner. The people need to decide for themselves whether they need to use less of the same and keep the same habits or change how they live their lives. Then again, maybe they won't have to compromise and life just gets better and better.
