Economy = Energy

"The world economy will contract for at least the next 50 years as oil production declines since oil is such an important proportion of world energy use and oil energy facilitates the production of other energy forms (e.g. coal mining, solar, wind). There may be some local and temporary economic growth in regions with local concentrations of available energy but, on the whole, contraction will be the rule". Read.

Comments

[Eclipse Now]

But oil is only the liquid fuel base of the transport sector. I'm a peak oiler, VERY concerned that our governments have left it too little too late and the transition could be very nasty indeed.

But just saying "oil oil oil" is missing the bigger picture. All economic activities can have substituted energy flows. There's electric mining, electric building, electric trolley buses (which the low-tech magazine writes on brilliantly!) Once transport is largely electric, we have the means to change everything else. Electric diggers and electric drag-lines don't care if the electrons that power it are "brown" or "Green". So yes there will probably be oil rationing and "nasty times" ahead... but the other side of that energy crunch I can see renewables, and possibly Gen4 nuclear (but don't tell anyone I said that ;-) providing even more power than we use today.

I'm big on trolley buses and New Urbanism, so it is with mixed feelings that I advise keeping an eye on "Better Place".
http://australia.betterplace.com/