The U.S. has the ability, resources, and will to weather the coming oil shock just as it weathered the Great Depression, WW II shortages, and the embargo in the 70's. There will likely be a protracted recession, and significant lifestyle changes for most Americans; the days of big cars, cheap Wal-Mart consumer goods, and 100 kinds of breakfast cereal on the shelves will probably be over for good. We have big advantages over other societies, however, not the least being that at some point, market forces will finally spur energy producers to get serious about an alternative energy economy. That may not happen early enough to prevent lots of economic misery, but a Y2K scenario seems pretty far-fetched.

Competition with China during the oil economy's last stages is a real danger, however. China's energy deficit will grow and grow, and unlike the U.S., China does not have the ability to slap together a 10-year Manhattan Project to develop a hydrogen economy infrastructure (or whatever is most feasible). China's export-driven economy, like Japan's 20 years ago, can't handle a recession. It's like a rider on a bicycle-- if the momentum stops, the bike falls over. China is already anticipating possible military conflict with the U.S. (and others) over oil, and investing and building military bases from Nigeria up through the Straits of Malacca to the South China Sea to protect its oil lifeline. And an oil-thirsty China with a greying population, a gender imbalance, and facing the threat of social and economic instability on a very large scale will be a real and unpredictable danger. Therein, perhaps, lies the greatest risk we'll face as the oil spigots slowly run dry.

I'm just curious, did nobody at Salon seem to make the connection between what these individuals are concerned about (peak oil) and the following:

1. Two oilmen launching a "war that will not end in our lifetimes" that just so happens to take place in the oil-rich regions of the world?

2. The bankruptcies and possible bankruptcies sweeping through oil-dependent industries like automobile manufacturing and aviation?

3. No alternatives are ready to scale at the current time and even in the best case scenario won't be ready for another 20 years or so.

It's time for publications like Salon to start sounding the alarm for real. This is still a bit of a puff piece as it seems the peak oil crowd is depicted as a bit on the "whacky" side when in reality anybody with their head screwed on half way correctly can see we're in more trouble than most can imagine.

Bill in Boston

When a billionaire friend of George Bush has $500 million sitting in cash waiting for the world to devolve into Mad Max maybe it's safe to say we're gonna be in some deep s--t soon.

Mad Madelaine

This is an excellent article. However, I did a search and didn't find the word 'nuclear' used once. I believe if the risks are balanced, nuclear energy is the least objectionable alternative at the present time.

I discovered the "Life After the Oil Crash" website in late 2003, and for a few months I was obsessed with it. I bought into the dark anarchy it foretold and likened it to the impending presidential election. Shortly thereafter I read "The Food Revolution" by John Robbins that warned about how much energy goes into making food out of animals. I then became a vegan for some time. I grew out of those phases and now I happily eat as many animals products as I please, and I try to keep a healthy mental distance from hyperbolic, eerie websites because even though what they say about Peak Oil probably contains some truth, there's a certain amount of self-righteousness in which they hold onto this belief that we're all doomed that makes me think this is more about what's going on in their heads than what is actually going on in the reality of any impending energy crisis. Season 4 of SIX FEET UNDER addressed this paranoia with the character of George, Ruth's husband. He made portobello mushroom "steaks" for dinner and lectured anyone who would listen about the impending water shortage. He became addicted to chat rooms and blogs about the subject and reported his findings back to Ruth late into the night as if his life depended on it. He told her that if such and such a reservoir dried up, there would be no more water left. Her response, [paraphrased] "Well then we'll all be dead, but until then can we try to enjoy our life just a little bit." George ended the season by locking himself into a vintage nuclear bomb shelter and mumbling psychotic rants. As I grow older I find myself siding with Ruth more and more. We're frail, frail creatures in extremely vulnerable bodies that perish easily from moderate climate changes or just from going a few days without water. The earth is a physically violent place to live (before you factor in human violence) and people die every day from food and water shortages. There's always going to be some looming crisis for humanity, running out of oil is just one of many. So until the apocalypse comes knocking at our doors, can't we just enjoy our kung pao chicken and grass-fed Australian steak and eggs and do what we can now (recycle, get out of debt as quickly as possible) and let Mother Nature take its course. She's much smarter than us anyway.

This is so American. You are told that you can no longer keep up the obscene overconsumption that characterises your way of life, and you jump to the conclusion that ALL THE PLANET (sic) will return to the Middle Ages.

Grow up, people. It's about time.

Posted today from the huff post via the Christian Science Monitor: Something to be hopeful about...

By the end of this month, 100 percent of the electricity that powers the Statue of Liberty in the Harbor and Ellis Island, where millions of Americans first set foot in America, will be "green power." Windmills in West Virginia and Pennsylvania will supply the electricity that powers up the floodlights that shine on Miss Liberty's torch and the air conditioning that keeps all those immigration records from mildewing.

"It's a powerful public-policy statement to fuel such an important symbol in that way," says Jim Coyne, a renewable energy expert at FTI Consulting in Cambridge, Mass.

In some ways, shifting away from the heavy use of oil and natural gas is part of the US government's energy strategy. President Bush said wind power could provide up to 20 percent of the nation's electricity.

The General Services Administration (GSA), which runs US government facilities, has been switching over to green power for some time. In the Northeast and Caribbean (Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) regions of the country, 33 percent of the electricity usage, or about 75 million kilowatt hours, are now renewable energy. These include buildings such as the Peter Rodino Office Building in Newark, N.J., and New York's 26 Federal Plaza, which houses the GSA and the FBI. Until the latest contract was signed, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island received half their electricity from green sources.

The GSA also notes that going green is not costing taxpayers more money, because it buys electricity in bulk. "It's a wash," says Emily Baker, a spokeswoman for the GSA in New York. "Plus, there are so many other benefits such as the money farmers get from leasing their land for windmills."