Running on Empty
Linked in a previous post, George Monbiot's article Bottom of the Barrel warrants a second look.
The only rational response to both the impending end of the Oil Age and the menace of global warming is to redesign our cities, our farming and our lives. But this cannot happen without massive political pressure, and our problem is that no one ever rioted for austerity. People take to the streets because they want to consume more, not less. Given a choice between a new set of matching tableware and the survival of humanity, I suspect that most people would choose the tableware.
See also my related post - Conspicuous Consumption - on the Flame Board.
You're quite right about China. Now that they've got a lot of our money to spend, the impulse will be to get wheels and take to the road. It will be more than just slightly ironic if several hundred million Chinamen give up their bicycles just about the time the whole world is running on empty.
I think it was Waylon Jennings who wrote:
"Life ain't so righteous when your army's out of gas."
Maybe that'll be the silver lining.
S