Reply #2: Prepare to wind down [View All]

[IDemo]

Virtually all of the attention given to this topic by politicians and the media is focused on the assumptions that either oil reserves will continue to expand indefinitely or that alternatives will neatly step in when "the market" is right. Neither viewpoint addresses the reality we face this century: the era of indefinite expansion is coming to a close, and no amount of "Jack2" discoveries or alternatives will change that. The best either can do is to mitigate the impact, hopefully providing a "soft crash" versus a hard one.

Left unsaid is that even if a Ghawar is miraculously discovered every year, this won't solve our problem, just move it into the atmosphere.

The very important flip-side of the energy coin, conservation, is treated by many with disdain. Commute by bicycle when possible? (guilty). Recycling, lowered consumption, less travel, realistic thermostat settings, growing some of your own food; these are all things many could do today, but don't.

Doing my part for the War on Christmas..