Since I'm not in college, I guess I'm part of the old fart crowd ;).

As usual, I've been worrying over the Kunstler bone for a little while and I'd like to add a few caveats...

1. Kunstler did a public service to help raise awareness about Y2K. Without preparation, Y2K, though not likely to result in the end of civilization, could have been a bit worse. So in my opinion, it's better to over-prepare for an emergency than to not prepare or to be poorly prepared. Y2K response vs Katrina, for example. So though the end of the world according to Kunstler did not happen with Y2K, I still think he was right to sound the alarm.

2. The case of Peak Oil is a bit different. The civilized world ran quite well before computers and though system crashes result in loss of productivity and the need for hard copy work-arounds, the issue of peak oil, I would argue is a bit larger. You'll need 10-20 years of really hard work to mitigate peak oil. You'll need billions if not trillions of sunk investment. And you'll need to make some really damn good energy substitute choices to navigate the problem.

3. Where I disagree with Kunstler is his 'doomed sense of inevitability.' As a free will guy I tend to operate under the assumption that applied will and effort changes things. There is no magic but the simple kind involved in hard work and applied human intellect. If we were to create a scale with 1 representing ultra doomer and 10 representing ultra cornucopian, I'd put Kunstler at about a 4. He's a doomer, but at least he's a rational one. But I think he's overlooking advances being made in alternatives, renewable energy, and energy efficiency right under his nose. Furthermore, we've got to realize that there's a lot of fat we can cut out of the current system before we start hitting muscle, bone, and vitals. Though Kunstler is entirely justified in saying "The world doesn't have a creamy nougat center," I don't think his criticism of alternatives is quite as justified. Even if alternatives make up for half the energy loss of oil, we might be able to pull through on radical increases in efficiency.

In any case, the challenge of peak oil is before us. The question in my mind is will we rise to meet it or will we cower or otherwise fail to face it. In all, I like and respect Kunstler. You don't have to agree with everything a person says, after all. He's doing the right thing and he's bustin his butt while others sit on their hands or point fingers. So my extended Kudos remain.