The Long Emergency may have begun.

[c9]

What is not being discussed rationally by the mainstream media is Katrina’s impact on energy production. They don’t dare. By my calculations and those of oil energy expert Jan Lundberg, the United States has just lost between 20% and 25% of its energy supply. My projection is that it’s not coming back — at least not most of it.

From The Wilderness article

I hate feeling like I'm crying wolf, but yikes.

Comments

[leapfish.livejournal.com]

That's not going to happen. Nothing is going to happen NOW, and nothing will ever happen with the flick of a switch. As smart as we are as humans, it's also our tendancy to be lazy. As long as people can afford oil, they're going to buy oil. Oil can be $10, $100 or $1,000 per liter, and there will always be someone who can (1) afford it and (2) make up enough excuses as to why it's easier to continue buying oil, instead of switching to alternative X or Y.

While there exists limited technology to replace car fuel, or at least reduce how much we use, there are many processes that still depend on fuels, and don't have alternatives. Plastics use fuel. There doesn't appear to be an alternative to jet fuel anywhere yet. I have no proof, but even petroleum jelly must be made of fuel (it's in the name!), but I suppose we could use aloe vera instead :-P