SHOOT: The idea of 'growth' and 'capitalism' and 'credit' will soon be meaningless, debunked, outdated, obsolete, 'old theory'. Instead we face a new world harsher, larger, more cruel, with fewer choices and contracting opportunities, contractions in fact of every kind. This scenario which I admit is not a happy one is imminent.
This will provide a general, preliminary sense of whether alternative sources are up to the job of replacing fossil fuels; and if they are not, we can begin to explore what might be the fall-back strategy of governments and the other responsible institutions of modern society. As we will see, the fundamental disturbing conclusion of the report is that there is little likelihood that either conventional fossil fuels or alternative energy sources can reliably be counted on to provide the amount and quality of energy that will be needed to sustain economic growth—or even current levels of economic activity—during the remainder of the current century.
This preliminary conclusion in turn suggests that a sensible transition energy plan will have to emphasize energy conservation above all. It also raises questions about the sustainability of growth per se, both in terms of human population numbers and economic activity.
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