UK: Energy questions that will need to be answered

THE other week, I joked about the new nature reserve of Wallasea Island being preserved in perpetuity until oil and natural gas is found beneath it. I now discover from a new report that the future lack of fuels could cause consequen- ces far more dire than this.

This survey by German-based Energy Watch Group grimly warns that extreme fossil fuel shortages will lead to wars and social breakdown.
Oil production, it claims, peaked last year, which was much earlier than previously expected. From now on, fossil fuel production will drop by around 7% annually. This appears to be not a case of crying wolf, as the markets are now setting record prices for oil every day over the last week and hit more than $90 (