Peek-A-Boo With Peak Oil

[Cross-posted on Fourth Turning of the Wheel]

The worlds as we know it is about to change. In a very big way. And noone seems to care, or even know, for that matter.

Okay, so maybe that's a tad bit melodramatic and apocalyptic, but it's not too far for the truth. The era of post-peak oil is coming. And it's stands to change a lot of things. If you want a basic primer on Peak Oil, check out this article on Salon.com from today. It's a pretty well balanced look at the fate of fossil fuels in the US and the world.

What scares me most about all this is that the facts just don't seem to be out there for the public. Most geologists and economists (the people I'd think we should be listening to) seem to agree that in the next 10 to 50 years, oil will reach an all time high demand and low production and that this will have a drastic effect on the modern world. Yet, you don't see any of the major news stations covering this, any of the major newspapers printing it, or any of the leaders of the world realistically discussing it. Maybe it's not feel-good enough. 'Why tell people they shouldn't drive their gas-guzzling Hummers? That won't improve our ratings!'

My questions for everyone: how do you feel about all this? Do you think it's a big bunch of liberal propaganda to promote environmentalism, or is it for real (the science would seem to point in the latter direction)? How do you think it will effect your future? Do you think it will affect your future?

I for example, think this is a major oppurtunity for humanity to kick some major ass and take some giant leaps forward technologically. With breakthroughs in nanotechnology, humanity is very close to getting to the point that we can harness energy from the sun to directly hydrolize water, creating free hydrogen that can then be used as the "fossil fuel" of the future. That's the career path I most see myself in, so in a way, Peak Oil is involved in my future career prospects simply by coincidence. Go figure.

How about you?