Saildog wrote:

Had governments done their job, they would have abolished income taxes in favour of energy taxes and forced investment in these solutions. ...We didn't because of the great 20th century divide between Marxism and capitalism ... and its very deep aversion to intervention from government of any kind.

I agree. Indulging in a little futurism:

* there will be no significant action until an obvious energy crisis hits.

* when the crisis hits, the US will try to get the Market to fix the problem (with tax incentives).

* European countries are more likely to take strong collective actions (AKA government intervention).

In Europe, governments will be able to direct scarce liquid energy resources to where they are most needed (agriculture, mass transit, medical, ...). In the US, energy will flow to where the money is, so look for class divides to increase.

This has me wondering about the electric grid: is it possible to ration electricity? (other than with price). As people substitute electricity for liquid fuel, electricity demand could surge (think plug-in hybrid cars).

AFAIK, the only way to ration electricity is with rolling blackouts to selected neighborhoods.

Don't try to predict the future. Get ready for it.