curiousOn the other hand I am getting tired of doomsday scenarios regarding the coming end of the oil age.
People, GET OVER IT. Will there be problems? Of course. Every transition has problems. We had problems transitioning from a rail-based society to a road-based one. Of course people now FORGET about the rails almost entirely, it seems, with apocalyptic claims that we will devolve into isolated pockets of humanity without any sort of modern communication or transit systems. Remember railroads? Trains can run on wood if need be.
Furthermore the history of mankind has been a history of continuing technological advances to meet whatever needs there may be, and I don't see that ending any time soon. Oftentimes the greatest technical leaps are made during wartime because that's when the technology is NEEDED. If we end up needing alternate energy sources then you can believe that the rate of their advance will be mind-boggling compared to current estimates.
Just stop with the doomsday stuff. Whenever mankind has had a dark-ages style technological reversion it has been because of religion and politics, not some sort of scientific boundary. What we REALLY have to worry about is fundamentalism at home and abroad. There have been people talking about technological doomsdays for as long as there has been technology, and they are always the people who misunderstand human ingenuity and resourcefulness. We may very well face a recession when the oil starts to dry up, but if you focus on learning horsemanship instead of computer skills the only job you'll be qualified for in tomorrow's economy will be in a rodeo.
