For the good of the US economy, security, and environment we need to end our dependence on foreign oil. Doing so will probably help the global warming issue as well. The interest of the US is in finding another means of powering our vehicles just as we found replacements for steel and more oil resources to invalidate the predictions of shortages based on older environmental models. A small fractional decline in GDP from converting away from oil is preferable to periodic wars and recessions caused by nutcase regimes controlling oil reserves.

The basic equations in those old models weren't flawed. They were basic mass balance type equations. It was the assumptions that went in them that were flawed. Continued rapid population growth, Limited resources of oil and other critical materials, build up of toxic chemicals. Populations growth slowed, plastics replaced steel in many applications, oil drilling technology leaped ahead of consumption, recycling improved, many toxic chemicals were replaced or handling improved. Some of these changes came about precisely because the models warnings were heeded and others were underlying trends which had yet to show the power of geometric progression versus linear trends that were then dominant.

The key fact those old doom predictions failed to address was the power of new technology to overcome old problems. I'm a firm believer in this and have no doubt we can address the problems of global warming with better technology rather than luddite regression if we can collectively pull our heads out of the sand and face the problem head on.

Regards,
Mark