There is one element of oil creation that you forgot: A mechanism to trap the Oil. Otherwise after the hydrocarbon is created it disperses. Finding the trapping mechanism at whatever depth is more important that the age of the oil.

In traditional reserves this trapping mechanism has been a a limestone dome or some such but it doesn't have to be. Technology is now allowing us to exploit other trapping mechanisms (such as shale and sand). This means that we can exploit previously untouchable deposits. If the price of oil rises again, the same thing will happen and we will be awash with 'new' oil. The really scary part of all this is that we are now starting to transition to unconventionals, which are often trapped in different ways, such as methalhydrates frozen in the sea floor. This is a slow motion disaster for the planet as the amount of carbon trapped in these formations dwarfs anything we previously could have exploited.

What does this mean for peak oil? What does peak oil even mean? Does it mean peak conventional production? If so, we may already be there. Does it mean peak hydrocarbon production? In that case we are nowhere near how much we could dig up....

I'm with you man! We need to keep questioning all these fundamentally unsound 'scientific' theories. I mean take Newton and his THEORY of gravity... Call me a denier all you want. I'm not denying the "Science" part of this (Things fall). I am denying the predictive hyperbole from the likes of Issac Newton, who keeps making ridiculous claims, while having a huge gravity footprint (apple diet not withstanding).

Once battery tech is established, it kills the need for nuclear. Wind/solar is all you need. Wind/solar power the day and wind works at night when demand is lower anyway. Any gaps in coverage are absorbed by batteries. Legacy plants will have an increasingly difficult time generating cost competitive electricity as the years go by because despite the high upfront costs the generating costs for renewables are close to zero. Currently the weak link IS battery tech, however, there has been a ton of work and research going into this area which seems to be showing promise in multiple areas. The next decade or so should yield major advances here pushing down costs and capacity up.

This strikes me as having potential to augment the traditional battery in a car. I don't think it will replace it, nor should it. Combine this with a moderate sized battery and you extend the range of the car dramatically. Better, you can have two different systems optimized for different uses, one a slow charging energy dense battery and the other a quick charging efficient capacitor mopping up regenerative breaking energy and delivering it in a quick burst. Add in a few other systems such as integrating solar power to help run the increasing number to gadgets in cars and the electric car starts to really shine.

True, most jobs simply require a skills based education. However, if you hope to run with any reasonable form of democratic government you need a population filled with people who can think and reason critically. The best way to generate such a population is with a robust education system.

This is stupid on so many levels it boggles the mind. I'll have to limit to just a few:

If this guy decided to start selling traffic analysis to the city, then he should be stopped. However, the individual who did this work was not doing it for a profit therefore the complaint is meaningless. With the proliferation of the internet, anybody can easily obtain and use once obscure and hoarded knowledge. If someone takes the time to research and complete a well thought out and presented argument, it is incumbent on the city to respond in a well thought out manner. If he made a mistake, reply and point it out at the level he or she is engaging you on. Obviously in this case, someone in the city got caught with their pants down and doesn't like it. There are a lot of cocky people out there who think that they are gods gift to... (fill in the blank)... and that they are irreplaceable. They don't like it when they are shown up. People need to realize that no matter how highly skilled and how much education you have, OTHER PEOPLE CAN DO WHAT YOU DO TOO! ( Sometimes even better than you;) )

If this complaint is allowed to stand, the precedent it sets is scary: Any government councilor had better not question the engineer of any project. Same goes for the public at large. At least nobody better complain using any sort of intelligent argument.

Yes, they still have caps, however, I go over my cap every month and have yet to be charged for it. As long as the threat of the independent operator is out there, the big guys will be less willing to make an issue out of it.

No, but it is cheating if you lash your Toyota to the Ford then claim better fuel economy.

Perhaps I have mistaken how evolution works, however, just having babies in space or elsewhere is not enough to evolve a new species. You need selective pressures which only allow certain individuals to survive. I doubt very much that babies born off-world will face such a high mortality rate that many will not survive to have children of their own.