The Energy World is Flat

The subtitle is Opportunities From the End of Peak Oil and the authors are Daniel Lacalle and Diego Parrilla (2015).

To put forth the thesis of the book directly, the last barrel of oil left will be worth zero, not millions. In other words, for all the fears of depleting energy resources, the notion of peak oil and a return to the stone age is not realistic. There will always be enough oil, and eventually the economics of alternatives will evolve in a way that allows fossil fuels to be replaced entirely.

Thus, where peak oil forecasters continually get it wrong is in underestimating the possibility for new discoveries, new additions and new technologies that enable conservation, substitution and demand destruction. So, as if I needed another reminder, economics invariably drive us to solutions that are at one time unthinkable.