“Were moving from an era of cheap, abundant energy, to an era of scarce, hard to get, expensive energy.” – From A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash.
There isn’t any alternative source of energy developed up to now that can replace oil and natural gas as energy sources. The assumption that we have well and enough coal to last many decades rests on the premise that it will be used at current rates, and not used as a replacement for oil.
It doesn’t have to go dry, to be used up completely, to wreak havoc on the world economy and drop living standards precipitously. It just needs to get very, very expensive.
Because it won’t mean only the end of cheap gasoline for the car, cheap plastic, and cheap heating. It will mean the end of cheap, imported food. It will probably even mean the end of cheap food from out of state. The end of year round lettuce and apples for all, of fresh mangoes in winter in the northern temperate zone.
We’ve been living as if there were no tomorrow. I hope that doesn’t end up being the epitaph of this society.