If we are entering the Peak Oil Era, what do you thnk is going to happen?

It means things are going to get expensive, both fuel and those goods and services which use lots of fuel.

The USA is in trouble in several ways, though.  The country has been living beyond its means, and the import bill for oil and other goods is driving down the value of the dollar.  The imports and other shenanigans like the recent real-estate bubble were financed by borrowing money, mostly from overseas.  Those lenders are looking at the value of their dollars going in the toilet, and don't want to lend any more; this pops the bubble.  This means that the one thing that people used to be able to tap to pay for more oil (their houses) is going down in value and they won't be able to buy as much.

People who bought big trucks to commute to work and had to put their gas on credit cards may be faced with a triple whammy of unaffordable gas because of cancelled card, repossessed truck and defaulted mortgage.  It's going to get ugly.

Much the same as last time. We are actually approaching the end of Hubbard's Peak & when the Chinese military realises they've been had, not only will demand fall, but a new source of oil will flood the market. A certain Australian politician goaded the Chinese government into buying sufficient oil to mobilise their armour, by threatening to take military action against a Chinese ally (albeit on a wild goose chase after potential terrorist supporters) - and petrol went from $0.80 to $1.20 almost overnight! In the meantime, if the price goes up, there will be more money spent by oil industry professionals and workers so either way there are benefits to be had if you look for them.

Some of the most inspiring things to emerge from the panic over rising fuel costs are the ideas such as biodiesel. All we need is for a mechanic or plumber to invent a micro-cracking tower that is relatively inexpensive and Joe Average will get the opportunity to make his own biopetrol!

I think that if you live and love as best you can using only the things you can use, then you can find happiness. I'm actually planning to move out into the country because centralised systems suffer the most from the market tempests of the oil patch - and if I can live closer to the kind of environment I love, it is better for me.

This may seem counter-intuitive, but happiness comes a lot cheaper when you live closer to the things that make happiness easier for you to find. This varies from individual to individual, but for me I love the sound of birds and the smell of temperate rainforest and I'd rather not be separated from nature by hours of gridlocked traffic.

In any case, if the Chinese decide to keep their new fuel reserves, prices will be limited by the fall in demand as people either try to "do the right thing" or exploit cheaper alternatives - and this will see the fall in fuel prices predicted after Hubbard's Peak. Otherwise, prices will fall even faster.

It's warm and sticky here in Melbourne (Australia), and contrary to global warming theories, this has to be one of the coldest summers I've ever experienced in Melbourne (which is to be expected in a once in a thousand year drought) - So I think reality is a tad more complicated than people with only a ten second sound-byte are capable of communicating!

Anyway "Don't Panic!"

Means I maybe headed to the mountains....on paws. : )