What’s sad is when you look at the real numbers and realize that even exploiting the tar sands of Canada doesn’t really buy that much in the way of time, at the current rate of oil consumption (a rate which increases as more countries develop and desire the first-world lifestyle).

The interesting questions are things like: what’s going to happen as the oil reserves start to run out? Things like flying require a certain energy density to happen - otherwise the weight of the fuel required becomes prohibitive. Alternate energy sources could be found for things like home heating and electricity, but jet fuel is trickier.

Things to think on, anyway.