OVERVIEW

In the earlier chapters, I have explained how oil production is set to decline and become much more expensive. For many people, this sounds like bad news: a sort of doomsday message. There can, indeed, be no doubt that the transition to a new low-energy world will be difficult, perhaps very difficult. But it is not the end of the line. Almost by definition, Man will go on and find solutions. As often happens, there may even be a silver lining, such that many aspects of life may improve.

The economists like to say that if you want more oil, drill more wells. It is quite possible that the coming crisis will indeed spawn another exploration boom, as people in ignorance of the underlying resource constraints continue to live in the past and hope that what worked before will work again. It won t. Instead, some new thinking has to come into play.

There are two obvious solutions: use less energy and find alternative renewable sources. In fact, there is a more important third solution of better using what remains. I think the least promising approach is to try to find alternative energy sources to maintain the status quo. I do not believe that they can ever be a substitute for the fuels we use in such a profligate way today. That is not to say that they are irrelevant or unimportant: quite the contrary. They can contribute very usefully, and in some circumstances can make a great impact.