Necessity is the mother of invention, they say...
Personally, I'm view the current global situation with gaurded enthusiasm.
It's severe enough to prompt a strong, pragmatic solution, and yet not sudden and harsh enough to create a global catastrophe on the order of the Great Depression. People can get by. They will need to change and adapt, and they will need to do so aggressively, but in the end, they will get walk out of this thing smarter and stronger. Demand will spur industry to create long-term, expansive solutions, will force the cumbersome energy companies to seek alternatives, and will open the eyes of the most die-hard conservatives as to just how many viable alternatives there are. The fact that oil prices are spiking and severe environmental effects are coming to a head at the same time only indicates that the path to take from here on in will be one less dependant on oil, and more on renewable energy sources.
Things will change drastically in the next decade. My hopeful prediction is that these changes will include our walking away from Middle Eastern oil suppliers, and embracing technologies that are today in their nascent stages... Nascent, mind you, does not mean infeasible.
It's a bit cliched to talk about silver linings, but in this case, I am sure there is one. Humanity, for all its shortcomings, has proven that in times of need, brilliant ideas can and will emerge.