Clearly, the Chinese need the resources, but I don't think they want to clash with the industrial world which happens to be the market for their goods.

Even Silicon Valley investors have put well over a $1 billion in new energy technologies.

So the major obstacle to the development of new supplies is not geology but what happens above ground: international affairs, politics, investment and technology.

But that's not enough: To maintain energy security, one needs a supply system that provides a buffer against shocks. It needs large, flexible markets. And it's important to acknowledge the fact that the entire energy supply chain needs to be protected.

An important United Nations environmental conference went past 6:00 in the evening when the interpreters' contracted working conditions said they could leave. They left, abandoning the delegates unable to talk to each other in their native languages. The French head of the committee, who had insisted on speaking only in French throughout the week suddenly demonstrated the ability to speak excellent English with English-speaking delegates.

It's extraordinary how inventive one can be with ethanol right now.

The world has produced about 1 trillion barrels of oil since the start of the industry in the nineteenth century. Currently, it is thought that there are at least 5 trillion barrels of petroleum resources, of which 1.4 trillion is sufficiently developed and technically and economically accessible.