If that is true then we are screwed, because the ordinary person does not have the means or ability to change his or her habits quickly enough to forgo a financial disaster.

Of course, unless that is the plan. A huge transfer of wealth from the low and middle class to the stockholder class.

If there were real alternatives that the average person could use, I would say big deal. But that is not true for most people.

How about huge tax credit for average people who use alternative energy, such as credits for buying and using solar panels for heating and electricity? The huge oil companies get credits and grants for exploring new sources of energy -- how about a piece for the rest of us?