Originally posted by lazs2
the point beet being... the problem allways get solved. You and I don't know if we are "ready" for something new... you could read the paper next week and find that a breakthrough in cold fussion or some such was made..
Phew! Just finished reading it today, all 341 pages. It was heavy going.
I never realised the complexity of the "geopolitics" of the world's energy order. It doesn't look as if the ultimate renewable source of energy will have much of an impact by 2030. The book strongly suggests there will be an intermediate energy technology driven by natural gas, which will last about 20 years and will provide a bridge, while a longer term solution is developed. But I very much doubt that a solution will pop up "next week". And... oil consumption is set to increase as China and India develop their economies.
One of the problems the author cites is that many figures in the US government are hand picked oilmen, and that W has tried to solve the energy crisis with calls for higher production, instead of making more efficient use of what we already have, and looking to the future of new fuels. The oil industry is being run like any other business - the more the oil companies sell, the higher are there profits. So it's no wonder that W is less than enthusiastic about a future without oil. I don't think the author likes W much.
