The author deals very effectively with the reassuring statements often found in mainstream media that suggest a rosy energy future like this:
...we have trillions of barrels of oil. Counting coal-seam methane we have gas for centuries. Based on recent claims we probably have enough coal to build a bridge to the moon and enough iron to run a 20-line railway to Mars and back.He does this by employing the important concept of what he refers to as "networked resource production" which he defines as follows and goes on to explain how this will impact our future on the planet:
Production of any given resource is supported by a network of dependencies. These dependencies are, in turn supported by a network of further dependencies. In an environment of unconstrained availability of resources, this is not a problem. However, in an environment in which multiple resources may be approaching their economic production limit, a cascading failure can be initiated.