Boring uninspired and futile alarmism. No one will respond productively to this stuff. It would have been actually interesting had he done a little work and (1) worked out some actual figures on possible changes in oil supply, and the implications for price changes, productivity growth, (2) made some historical parallels -- this isn't the first time a civilization has run out of some cheap commodity -- what happened before? or at least (3) analyzed the probable world response and changes it implies. And, no, I don't think the global response will be to just accept a new Dark Ages. Give me a break. People are a lot more resilient and inventive than that. Mr. Linden is not the only human on the planet with a brain. So we can assume the world will respond actively to peak oil, when it happens. But how? Who will be the winners, who will be the losers? How will life and society change? Etc. Mr. Linden could have written this column in his sleep, for all the intellectual effort or originality it shows.