What a pity Philip doesn't have the power to
'smash this sorry scheme of things entire
and remould it closer to the heart's desire.

Look, I dunno where the author has been but doesn't he realise the immense revolution that is overtaking the energy industry? I haven't been through all the details myself but it has to do with rock fracturing and reserves of gas and shale oil.. lot of international press on it of late.

There may be some short term disruption due to the changeover to alternates, but this is due to OPEC failing to invest in production facilities - so, yes, prices may get higher, but forecasting in the oil game is very difficult.

As for Easter Island, the author and some of the posters are quoting the theories of Jarad Diamond. They are interesting theories but Diamond is virtually alone in making them. Other academics who have looked at the island say that Western contact, including slave trader raids and diseases, destroyed the culture (not civilisation) that made the statues.

The trees went through two causes, one was the introduction of rats by the original settlers - rats that ate the seeds from the trees. See the work of Professor Terry L. Hunt, a professor of Archeology at the University of Hawaii. the other was that it was a marginal place for trees anyway.

Diamond has bitten back, of course, but until he has some solid archeological evidence to back his theories, they have to be considered marginal.

And I almost forgot. Peak coal. Bwwwhahahahah! Some people are really, really, desperate for scare stories. Took a look at the first link on the peak coal paper. Its just nonsense. Dump it and forget it. Reserves of coal vary according to price and other factors, never on production.

Bioinformatics - is this some peculiar new age nonsense paid for by my tax dollars? Really you couldnt make this stuff up!

JBowyer, seriously man, you should try and at least google the meaning of words you don't understand before ridiculing them. You've just branded yourself on a public forum.

Bugsy, read mate, read..

I've just been glancing through some of the stuff on shale oil and gas.. I still don't quite grasp what's going on but apparently there is shale oil and gas accessible by these fracture methods everywhere. All the rule books have been thrown out the window, and the big reservoirs don't matter so much any more. Go and search for yourself if you don't believe me.

The article is now not so much wrong as completely outdated.

Hey, was I arguing that with you Mark?

I am sure there are a lot of burnable hydrocarbons out there. It may not be as cheap, and some of it appears to be already causing major concerns of environmental degradation and more direct pollution through contamination of water tables with compounds like benzene, especially in arable areas. But hey, it's there, lets burn it, I'm sure it won't cause any sorts of atmospheric or environmental problems at all.

I read all right, just evidently not the same pap you appear to.