Spud, you are right. In the end the capitalistic tendencies will prevail and the oil will be harvested. The environmentalist activity will help keep the blatant waste within acceptable levels. The dimming of the lights will be pushed back an undetermined number of years. At some point the oil will be gone, because it takes a long time to create and a few years to use up.

Back in the 60's, there was a period of time when I was trying to find myself. I had quit school and was trying to put together enough dough to quit working and play music fulltime. I was working with a guy who had a connection that would get us both jobs on the Alaska pipeline. I was packed and ready to go when the Congress halted the project. I was bummed out. I had to find a new plan. By the time the pipeline was back underway, I had moved on. I knew the environmental arguments and had completely overruled them out of personal economic "necessity".

Unless we change our behavior individually, and work to change them collectively, you can pretty much predict what will happen on what has happened. It's hard work changing the way the world works. Unless people begin to see that their self-interest lies in working toward change it just won't happen. And that's a hard sell.