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Originally Posted by Jaybird  doesn’t the Scarcity Mindset have to kick in with respect to oil, maybe not for you and me, but for our children or for their children? |
This is something I often wonder about. Have you ever read economist Julian Simon's work? His basic view, well backed up with presented data, was that humans are the ultimate resource, that in the long run with human ingenuity resources generally become cheaper and increasingly available rather than increasingly scarce.
You can check out one of his main works here for free:
The Ultimate Resource II: People, Materials, and Environment
Chapter 11 focuses on oil specifically:
"The historical facts entirely contradict the commonsensical Malthusian theory that the more we use, the less there is left to use and hence the greater the scarcity. Through the centuries, the prices of energy -- coal, oil, and electricity -- have been decreasing rather than increasing, relative to the cost of labor and even relative to the price of consumer goods, just as with all other natural resources."
His ideas go against the grain and most environmentalists don't seem to like him very much, but so far reality has born out his views.