Reply #6: The problem is most definitely both.

[antigone382]

Sure, traders are going to soak every last penny they can out of whatever they can. However, the undeniable fact is that oil is a finite resource, that we have not been treating it as such, and that, once it runs out, there is no combination of alternative energy sources that can fully make up the energy gap left behind. Over the last decade or so, we have seen a series of sharp recessions, punctuated by very weak growth that never gets us quite where we were before in terms of jobs and quality of life--that trend is going to continue, and it is going to worsen, as economic development in China and the other developing nations puts greater and greater pressure on a declining resource. My hope is that we will quickly wake up and adapt.