As a follow-up to the posts about the peak oil, I've been meaning to write a rebuttal to the more pessimistic views concerning the effects not only of peak oil but also of climate change. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime — and so that you are familiar with the views professed by the prophets of impeding doom— I strongly suggest you read three articles. The first is about James Lovelock (yes, that "Gaia" fellow), and briefly summarises his argument of why the consequences of climate change will be far worse (and probably happen much sooner) than generally acknowledged. The second, by Paul Chefurka, touches on the "elephant in the room" issue, namely the fact that the current human population levels (6.6x10^9 and rising) are far beyond the natural carrying capacity of the planet, and that only thanks to fossil fuels have we been able to "cheat" nature. His article goes into great lengths (almost to the point of being morbid) about the implications of peak oil for those population numbers. The last suggested article was written just today by the master of pessimism himself, James Howard Kunstler. As usual, while he does make a few good points, his overly colourful language and gratuitous use of hyperboles makes it difficult not to portray him as a caricature. Though I am sure this is the complete opposite of his intention, Kunstler's writing often crosses the border into comical territory.

^*A quote from James Lovelock, himself quoting an anonymous colleague. It roughly translates into "the planet is fine; it's the people that are screwed".