Start off here, here, and here (which, it was scary enough hearing a Reaganite and some republicans make similar claims, but fuckme, when an oil company does it, you know something is up).
First, in spite of the somewhat arrogant, self-righteous, omnipotent manner I sometimes tend to project myself as, I'll be the first to admit that I am not an expert in anything, at all.
That said, I'm somewhat worried by the fact that, from what I've seen, even in essays and articles and speeches that accept the dire situation that peak oil production poses to the US...well, what I would call the "american way of life," very few have applied the consequences beyond energy and transportation headaches. Petroleum is used in just about everything, from plastics to fertilizers to the gas for our beloved automobiles.
But what is more unnerving is the extent to which our entire culture is founded on cheap oil. I cannot foresee anything other than collapse, unless there is vast reformation, now; but I cannot see any motivation, any imperative, any desire to change. We are a citizenry asleep, a nation of horses with blinders...sheep.
When comfort is stripped away from us, what is there with merit in itself, that will prevent catastrophic destruction and total social up-heavel? Where are the "ubermen?"
(I realize that globally, the impact of peak-oil will be historical, to say the least. My focus, however, is to try and figure out how it will play out in my country...granted this must take all of the rest of the hemisphere and world into consideration, but when I think of the US, I think that we have a unique cultural disposition to being especially negatively impacted. Until this happens, however, I still believe that we can advert, or at least cushion, the blow, if we only make a few changes in how we see ourselves and our environment.)
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