There's no need for "a miracle breakthrough in a whole new field of energy" - we already know where the energy we want can come from. Solar power, directly, and via biomass and wind and wave; moonpower via tides; earthpower via geothermal sources. And on top of that, technologies that enable us to get by without squandering energy - insulation, efficient machinery. If there is some "miracle breakthrough" that doesn't have the kind of downside that nuclear fission has, fair enough - but there's no need to wait on that happening.

What gets in the way of switching from fossil fuels is a distorted "market" system distorted by a distorted political system.

But use of fossil fuel on the kind of scale we use them is going to destroy us, if we don't stop. So at some point we will stop. That may not happen until the serious damage really affects the USA directly, which will be some time after it hurts a lot of other places, but it will happen.

I disagree with Doug about the merits of opening up this new oil field - but he is spot on in putting it in the context of "until other alternatives to fossil fuels can be developed".