Thank you for your thoughtful reply. It has given me much to think about.
I agree we have BIG challenges ahead of us. The question I would like to have addressed, really, is whether or not "Peak Oil" is an ABSOLUTE reality. I'm reading authors who say, for example, that it doesn't matter whether it is "real" or not--because the powers that be have already begun to chart humanity's course AS IF it is real:
The Most Important Thing You Don't Know About "Peak Oil"<snip>
Should the oil markets themselves begin to 'connect these dots', then all our lives are going to be impacted violently and immediately. The commodity traders for various interested firms live solely by anticipating conditions and events, not by debating them and verifying them. The old mantra is, you "buy the rumor, sell the news". This is the reason you'll never see "Peak Oil" covered by a respected media outlet. Because as soon as it is recognized that for all practical purposes the situation is already upon us, then a fast and viscious "resource grab" will be initiated. The price of oil in the markets will begin to rise dramatically. This will initiate a circular hedging / hording mentality in large end-users, governments, and multi-nationals. This will then have a myriad of devastating effects, but all average Joe Consumer is going to notice is that the price at the pump will experience a brief and dramatic blip upward, gas lines will form for a short time at the corner-stations, and then suddenly the corner gas-stations will go dry altogether...perhaps getting a few sporadic deliveries, but more likely simply for good. Gasoline will not be available to individual drivers, as precedence is given to heating oil, critical government and commercial uses, public transportation, transport of food and goods, etc. How the situation unfolds after that you can imagine just as well as I....
If this scenario sounds over-dramatic, keep in mind that what I'm talking about is a dawning recognition of something that many analysts have already come to realize: that the "oil grab" is in fact already on, that it's not a temporary 'bottleneck' or passing 'shock', and that the losers in this game will not survive. A global game of 'blind man's bluff' is underway, with all the players pleading ignorance of the issue for as long as possible so they can get their pieces in place...all the while anxiously watching for the first itchy-trigger finger that's going to set the whole thing off.
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I believe ... the debate over "Peak Oil" itself is already over. It no longer matters whether it is proven or disproven, because there isn't time left to do either. Events in the world are revealing to us the only truth that matters: that a desperate resource war is emergent, one that will not be won by trade sanctions, blustering, or corporate bargaining. This is the only issue which should now be under scrutiny by those who strive to stay "ahead of the curve".
The problem with "Peak Oil" is that it can be used to JUSTIFY radical measures--perhaps I should say, "radical fascism," on "national security" grounds. It also begs the question, as you have in your reply, however challenging it may have been, WHY haven't we made more strives toward becoming a RENEWABLE ENERGY civilization? As you point out, it isn't as if we didn't have any foresight on this matter. I lived through the 70s. I remember
Co-Evolution Quarterly and the vision of a sustainable advanced civilization it pointed toward.
What happened? We can not ignore the significant influence OIL MARKET HEGEMONY has played in the extreme right wing political direction our country has taken over the past 30-40 years.