Raise the Hammer

Kiely elequently pointed out in response to one of my earlier articles - peak oil isn't going to mean sudden societal collapse, it's going to instead involve societal and technological responses to the challenge of depleting oil supplies. - jasonallen

Thanks for the props Jason. I should point out that I am a bit of a "kool-aid drinker" when it comes to some of the technologies needed. I look forward to (and expect) the day that I will charge my 400 Km range electric vehicle and provide the bulk of my household electrical needs using solar panels on the roof of my house and garage and perhaps a small wind turbine mounted in the backyard.

I believe in the potential of urban off the grid living, (or at least close).

On another topic (and warning I'm going a little conspiracy theory here) I have been to open pit strip mines. I've seen the largest coal mines in Indonesia and Colombia (two of the world's largest). When I go to these places I get a strange feeling. The equipment keeps getting bigger. Bigger shovels, bigger trucks. The production demand is always high and going higher. Some may say this is just the "race to the bottom" economy or the way these corporations work in order to maximize profits. But I get the feeling it isn't so much of a race to the bottom as it is a race to get everything out of the ground before there is no market for it (i.e., a race to extract all profit before the market hits bottom). With other commodities with a seemingly infinite shelf life (e.g., gold, copper, etc...) there is a throttling of production in relationship to commodity price. This doesn't seem to be the case with fossil fuels, (outside OPEC's occasional attempt to control price). Production trends upwards with very little if any relationship to price being detectable.

What will replace coal, gas, oil, etc??? I really don't know, but I'm often left with the feeling someone does.

Call me crazy, but I won't be surprised if (when the right time comes) there is an "Edison moment" that will "miraculously" change everything and enable all these currently just of reach technologies to be viable. I also won't be surprised if BP, Chevron or Suncor own the rights.