Resurgence of fossil fuels?

Excerpt

The famed Shell Geophysicist M. King Hubbert predicted in the 1950s that oil production in the United States would peak in the 1970s and decline thereafter, creating an ever increasing shortage and consequent dependence on imports to power the increasing societal needs. The facts from the U.S. oil companies quickly confirmed the predicted decline, and Peak Oil became an instantly recognizable moniker to be used in debates about U.S. oil independence and alternative energy. Because of high energy content and portability, petroleum already was a world commodity. Cheap petroleum in global commerce provided mutual benefits to both the exporting nations, many in the developing nations especially in the Middle East, and advanced nations of the West. This symbiosis was shattered in 1973 during the Yom Kippur war when oil was used as a political weapon known as the oil embargo resulting in gasoline shortage and long lines at the gas stations. During regular discourse in political, communication media, and academic circles, words like oil and energy became synonymous. Peak Oil was being confused as Peak Energy. Efforts to aggressively develop alternative sources of energy started in earnest at that time. Peak Oil was a constant inspiration to these efforts. Most of the attention at the time was focused on synthetic fuels via coal gasification and liquefaction. A huge Federal Government spending was undertaken to economically develop variations of the old German Fischer–Tropsch and Bergius processes. These efforts failed, and after the end of the oil embargo, were largely abandoned. …