What once was old is new again

The car is dying; it’s the age of the bike

The developed world held its breath early this summer as prices for crude oil climbed to nearly $150 per barrel

… Indeed, if this year is anything to judge by, money does speak louder than the environment when it comes to driving behavior. Apocalyptic warnings from leading scientists that climate change could, within this century, turn Southern Europe into a desert and leave Florida below sea-level did little to change driving habits, but a $70 to $100 bill at the gas pump did. It was never going to be easy convincing the United States or other car-dependent nations that their passion for cars is an unhealthy addiction, and, if it all comes down to economics, then threats posed by peak oil are certainly worrying.

Geologist M. King Hubbert developed the theory of peak oil in 1956, arguing that the rate of oil extraction in a region