«We
are nearing the end of a unique period in human history. The Industrial
Revolution, which began in the coalfields of England over two hundred years
ago, is now entering its final stage in the oil fields of the Middle East. (…)
In fact, the Industrial Age can be viewed as a convenient metaphor for the
process of transforming, exchanging, and discarding nonrenewable energy. Our entire
economic structure is built from and propelled by fossil fuels. (…) It is
ironic indeed that we have called our age the Age of Growth. We are convinced
that we have discovered a process for churning out perpetual wealth when
instead we have only been borrowing from the past. (…) We are, in truth, the
wily and ingenious scavengers of history. (…) The end of the age of fossil
fuels presages the end of the Industrial Age that has been molded from it. This
is the hard reality that is so difficult to fathom».
