Why We'll go to Extremes for Energy

While Klare stresses that we will see increasing investments in wind turbines and other forms of sustainable energy infrastructure, we are decades away from being able to rely on them. In the interim, he argues that our reliance on petroleum will become more "Xtreme:"

"The Era of Xtreme Energy will be characterized by an ever deepening reliance on the least accessible, least desirable sources of oil, coal, and natural gas. This period will surely involve an intense struggle over the environmental consequences of reliance on such unappealing sources of energy. In this way, Big Oil and Big Coal -- the major energy firms -- may grow even larger, while the relatively moderate fuel and energy prices of the present moment will be on the rise, especially given the high cost of extracting oil, gas, and coal from less accessible and more challenging locations...For most of us, life in the Era of Xtreme Energy will not be easy."