How to Avoid Oil Wars, Terrorism, and Economic Collapse

How to Avoid Oil Wars, Terrorism, and Economic Collapse - by Richard Heinberg:
Museletter -- 8/2005
"The SAIC Report concludes that substantial mitigation of the economic, social, and political impacts of Peak Oil can come only from efforts both to increase energy supplies from alternative sources and to reduce demand for oil. With regard to the claim that efficiency measures will be enough to forestall dire impacts, Hirsch et al. note that, 'While greater end-use efficiency is essential, increased efficiency alone will be neither sufficient nor timely enough to solve the problem. Production of large amounts of substitute liquid fuels will be required.' Further, 'Mitigation will require a minimum of a decade of intense, expensive effort, because the scale of liquid fuels mitigation is inherently extremely large.' Hirsch, et al., also point out that 'The problems associated with world oil production peaking will not be temporary, and past 'energy crisis' experience will provide relatively little guidance.'"