> if fossil-fueled industrialization is to end sometime in the near
> future, it has to be replaced by an alternative into which a great
> deal of investment is already being made today, in a fashion that
> coal was overtaken by oil.
>
> Is such investment being made now?
I think for various definitions of "sometime" "near future" "great deal" "already being made today" and "in a fashion" the answer is a "resounding" 'yes' ...
The devil is always in the details, but I think there's no chance I wouldn't be willing to back up with money or scotch that the end of the oil economy (likely to be replaced by the electricity economy) isn't already well underway. Yes, fossil fuel consumption will continue to rise (along with coal!) for some time, but the sky is not falling (at least not in this way).
Please commence calling me an oil apologist and a global warming denyer.
/jordan