I follow the global warming story quite closely. People I respect have changed their assessment from grim to terrifying.
I also follow the "peak oil" discussion. Some believers in peak oil also see scenarios unfolding that would be labeled terrifying. Some talk of 100 million in the USA having to die. Others think 5.5 billion (with a b) world-wide must die as the adjustment to peak oil is made. My own view is that the terror of global warming is both more certain and will be sooner in time than any cataclysm from running out of oil. Gene Coyle Jim Devine wrote:
if we've gone over the Hubbert hill, how come real gasoline prices are actually _lower_ now in the U.S. than in 1980? Massimo writes:> I don't think we will have time to destroy the environment with oil, because we will not be able to do much in 30 or 40 years. The problem is if we will destroy it fighting for the remaining oil.< this reminds me of the film "Mad Max." I haven't seen it, so I apologize if I misrepresent it. In it, people fight over gasoline -- and in the process, waste a tremendous amount of gasoline. Wouldn't the high price of gasoline discourage such waste? I know that a lot of people are totally crazy in that they don't care about others' thoughts or feelings, but you'd think that they'd care about their own costs. Frankly, I wish that the US price of gasoline were _higher_, as in Europe (which is due to high taxes). That would discourage the wasting of gasoline and destroying the environment even more.
