They Finally get it?

The Mainstream Media (or MSM for those in the know) have been reporting more and more about oil, gas prices and the state of oil production in the world. And yet even as recently as a week ago, MSNBC.com could run a story about the 'end' of the energy 'bubble.' Stories about gas prices, from sources, seemed to miss the crucial detail about supply and demand. China has taken the blame for increased gas prices, even though per capita the average Chinese citizen uses 1/5 of the energy that the average US citizen uses.

Those days are over, on MSNBC.com and at the Washington Post, a new editorial era seems to be upon us: "Global Pressures Forge a New Energy Reality" trumpets the Washington Post. Citing supply and demand factors, as well as the growth of China, the Post makes the bold assertion that gas prices, particularly for those in the US, will not ever retreat back to prices seen in the late 60's or during the decade of the 1990's.

This is not exactly acknowledging peak oil, the author hems and haws in typical DC fashion, but make no mistake the article lays out the current world situation, however, without taking the next step -- that is to try and imagine a world suddenly being deprived of cheap, abundant oil.

I imagine that step has to wait for the markets, that is the short term energy traders, to catch up, and really look a year or two down the line and realize whats coming. I doubt any news organization wants to be blamed for mass panic, but given the government's total inability to do ANYTHING (see Katrina response) a small, tight feeling of panic in everyone's stomach might motivate them to go out and DO SOMETHING.

I think the real lesson here is that we in the Peak Oil community need to continue our focus on research and out reach but realize its no good waiting for others to come around. WE ARE RIGHT, and the debate is officially over. Of course, life intervenes, and theres no way to absolutely know the future -- but if you want to get a good idea of what the next 50 years will look like, then the peaking of resources available to humanity is a good place to start.

When historians look back on this age, they will probably date this century as starting in 2008 -- the first time the world is staring into the abyss. Unlike the 1970s, there is little spare capacity in the world...theres no way out of this one. The age of scarcity is upon the mainstream.