Ha, Ridley . . the belief that technology will save us! It will, at best, "save" some for a little longer than others. But not enough to matter. It is fair to say that the Scientific Revolution and fossil fuel exploitation went hand-in-hand. It's happy talk to posit that the former preceded the latter, however.
Like Daniel Yergin, Petro PR specialist extraordinaire in either
The Prize or his latest book. Convenient that numbers cited by him
cannot be independently verified. Heinberg may be a publicist/journalist, but we can at least examine the conclusions from their premises.
Here's a blog link on EROEI saved out for that overseas friend depending on his actual or feigned ignorance (since "neutrality" is, ipso facto, something of a falsehood). Since there was stated familiarity, am posting it anyway as the blog covers quite a few related questions in a manner pleasent to send along to the happy-talk folks of my acquaintance (none here, of course; my own notwithstanding
) The biggest hurdle is emotional. That rationality is dragged hither and yon by feelings is discounted -- thus the appeal of Murdoch & Co. -- the curse being that the latter is mistaken for the former in this country. No one, including I, will say it is an easy hurdle.
The Energy Trap | Do the Math
For more context, in .pdf form, Vaclav Smil on Energy Transitions:
OECD Background Notes
And another, from ye olde sod:
The University Times; Irish Student Newspaper
A sustainable economy? Not without food.
How to Double Global Food Production by 2050 and Reduce Environmental Damage: Scientific American
How much "the economy" matter past this is probably regionally-dependent. Some city-states (mega-regions) will be better off than others. Nation states will hollow out: the trappings of nationhood, but unable to deliver. Laws, but respective of persons, not principles.
Back to OP. Is Peak Oil affecting the economy? Ask NATO, the Bundeswehr, Suisse Re and a host of other giant institutions with chips in the game; their reports are sober enough.
Definitions of Peak Oil probably matter more than anything else. Affix it as the label on the lid of Pandora's Box.
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