Don't worry, be happy. We can make ethylene glycol with solar and wind power from, um, coal.

[StevieM]

8. I appreciate your taking time to answer my questions.

You obviously have an enormous amount of knowledge about these issues, and we are lucky to have you as a resource to expand our understanding about complicated energy systems.

Here is the question I cannot get out of my mind: what is your second-place choice for the future of cars? Let me explain.

I cannot even begin to imagine that our country, or any country, will elect a government that does away with private automobiles. And it is hard to imagine dictatorships doing it either. Even if it could work in cities, it would seem to be impossible in the suburbs and especially the rural areas.

Let's suppose the environmental situation gets really bad. Even then I think that governments--and the people--would be inclined to try other alternatives before getting rid of them. And that is assuming they even could get rid of them, logistically, without shutting down a whole lot of things.

My point is that getting rid of cars seems to be a much more complicated transformation then getting electricity from nuclear rather than fossil fuels, or getting heat from DME or an electric heater rather than natural gas. In other words, I just can't see the legislation being passed.

So what do you think is the least bad option? What could be done that, in your mind, would allow us the best shot (or second best shot) at avoiding the moment when the feedback loops kick in and carbon starts being released from the soil and permafrost? What will allow us to keep the problem from reaching such explosive levels that we don't have enough time to get our geoengineering program up and running, so at least we can do some damage control against the worst possible ending? In other words...a game-over ending.

Let's think about this in terms of avoiding human extinction, while still recognizing that humankind is about to undergo a whole lot of pain. I wish we could do better but right now the evidence does not seem to support that we will. So I will prepare for the next best thing, which involves things like envisioning a wide-spread geoengineering plan starting around 2050. But I also recognize that there will be limits as to what the best geoengineering plans can accomplish. So we need to begin implementing a major transformation right now.

I am curious if you have--or could contemplate--a second choice for the future of cars. DME? OME1? Solid state batteries? Sulfur ion batteries? Some type of biodiesel?

I realize that this is not a question whose answer is in line with your stated beliefs. Please understand that I would not have asked you if not for the tremendous amount of respect I have for your incredible degree of knowledge concerning these matters.