Today, it is especially difficult for most people to understand our perilous global energy situation precisely because it has never been more important to do so.

When we decline to talk about what is real simply because it's uncomfortable to do so, we seal our own fate.

...the era of cheap oil and natural gas is coming to a crashing end, with global oil production projected to peak in 2010 and North American natural gas extraction rates already in decline. These events will have enormous implications for America's petroleum-dependent food system

The real problem is that we use too much oil. It's that simple and that difficult. If we truly want to reduce our vulnerability to high prices, the best way to do so is to reduce consumption.

Economic growth as we have known it is over and done with.

If we do nothing, we still get to a post-carbon future, but it will be bleak. However, if we plan the transition, we can have a world that supports robust communities of healthy, creative people and ecosystems with millions of other species.

Today, it is especially difficult for most people to understand our perilous global energy situation precisely because it has never been more important to do so.