We can become very energy efficient and cut back on our consumption by both lowering our standard of living and reorganizing our society so it takes less energy to operate it. That we can do, if we really want to and if we have the time. We can hope that substantial new sources of fossil fuels, comparable to the Middle East, materialize, hopefully in areas of the world controlled by nations friendly to us. I don't think that's going to happen. Or we can hope for some technological fix like fusion to step in and save our cookies. I'm not too optimistic about that either.

The only realistic sources of energy are coal and fission, and I'm all in favor of developing both, in spite of the risks, but not so we can afford to continue buying cheap property in Livermore and then commute every day to Cupertino for work, and so we can run both the heaters and coolers in our buildings simultaneously in winter because they are so poorly designed we cannot take advantage of the natural convection of warm gases. Hell, even the Romans knew how to do that!

Yes, it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better, but it's not the end of the world. I grew up in Florida when the only air conditioning available was in the movie theaters. It was unheard of in automobiles or public transport. The trolley cars had windows that opened, can you imagine that? Not only did we survive, but our parents and grandparents and their grandparents survived in this climate, even wearing woolen Victorian formal wear in the height of the summer. But the architecture and even the urban landscaping was designed for human needs and comfort, and habits and activities adapted to the environment. You could go into any public building or private home and feel comfortable, because builders used age old tricks that kept structures liveable. When cheap energy and technology made it possible, we started building structures and cities that were uninhabitable unless we pumped enormous amounts of energy into them to keep them cool. We did it because they were cheaper to build and energy was cheap. Talk about a perversion of sound engineering principles! This problem wasn't foisted on us. We created it.

I understand the situation a lot better than you think, I've been thinking about this since way before it became fashionable, way before the greenies and tree huggers. It's one of the reasons why I never wanted children.