Kunstler's take on the peak-oil crisis

Grist magazine has published an interesting interview with James Kunstler , the author of the book The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the 21st Century. Kunstler is a petro-pessimist who predicts economic, social, and environmental decline due to the end of the cheap-oil era. I've read The Party's Over by Heinberg, and generally agree with the disturbing predictions of the petro-pessimists . Cheap oil is clearly running out, and coal, the other major fossil fuel, will not fill the gap. (Of course, the Shrubs of the world will still tear down every mountain in sight trying to get at it.)

The current oil wars are a sign of things to come: instead of working towards a more sustainable (albeit, initially somewhat austere) future, current leaders are going to fight to the finish for every last drop of petroleum. It's sad. Right now we could be working together, employing massive amounts of people, to build an energy infrastructure that would last as long as the Earth itself. With good leadership and planning, we could be creating the world of tomorrow. Instead, we're fighting over the decayed remnants of yesterday.

For an alternative view, take a look at Crumb Trail and the Ergosphere.