Quote Originally Posted by Don Corleone
Easily in the sense of it will happen, not that it will happen without growing pains. Do you think energy distribution is the only industry that has to deal with evolving technologies? Look at newspapers. Those that read the writing on the wall and adapt themselves to be 'information sources' are prospering. They make their content available on the web through digital subscriptions. Those that insist on maintaining a paper-only product are going under.
Good example, but what happened to the paper industry? You see there is more here then the companies that produced the newspapers.

What about the machine shops who serviced the printing presses? What about the manufacturer of the press themselves?

In terms of oil, the branches of that economic tree spread much farther.

I mean what do you think happened to whalers? They sat around homeless and broke in New England for the past 3 generations?
Fine, but equating whaling to the global industry of oil is a stretch IMHO.

However, I'm game, anyone care to take a stab at the economic ramification of eliminating part of the oil industry? How about the 25% number first, start with Nigeria, then pick any other country if you so desire, venezula, russia, Iran....

Point is consumption of Oil is perhaps the most signifigant economic force to the world economy today. Historical comparissons are nice and all, but more industry, people, and governments are dependent on oil consumption that arguably any other resource in history.