Our only defense against the crushing weight of these forces will be to aggressively improve efficiency.
Those who would shut down offshore oil drilling might want to consider this: Over the next 20 years, the only real alternatives to offshore drilling are to become even more dependent on oil imports at the worst possible time, or trade it for the environmental horror of tar sands and coal-to-liquids production.The article is also reprinted in the Energy Bulletin which is a leading online publication re peak energy that supports much of what passes for "green" policy initiatives in the US. Although the website lists a disclaimer as to opinions expressed in their articles, one can only infer that they regard the thinking that prevails in this article as having merit. I believe that the article does, indeed, reflect much thinking in the US green movement, and if it continues to prevail, we might as well prepare for the demise of a habitable environment.
The mainstream green movement is so contaminated with the ideology of capitalism that they too believe that there is no alternative, and this article illustrates this myopic point of view. In fact the issue of this system which requires growth to exist, is hardly ever discussed in US green circles. It is a given. Once you accept their unspoken premise, you really have to accept their conclusions. Then the only real alternative is for more deep water and other types of high risk drilling for more oil. Likewise, one would also have to accept more wars to secure access to oil rich areas of the globe.