Perhaps the most important audience for this article are the editors of other papers around the country.  For all of its recent faults, the NYT is still the gold standard of American journalism.  PO may be viewed as less of a whacky, obscure theory by other editors after this.  
Bummer: peak oil does not rate anywhere near the top for how the world will end:
http://www.armageddononline.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2836

"Rapture" (18%) is a close second to "not in my life time" denial (26%) among the polled responses.