Liquid oil is cheap compared to the alternatives. The cheapest reserves are long gone. Here in Europe we pay $5 a gallon, most of it tax. Think of alternatives to Gasoline costing $5 a gallon without tax.
Now think of how many uses it has, including the food we eat.
Can the Third World afford food prices to sky rocket? Some parts yes, as they revert to massive farms with crops picked by manual labour. To sell to the West at 200% more.
Land that won't support farming,have a real problem. China has a massive one with 1.5 billion hungry people and a large military.
What's certain is the world will change dramatically, even to the point of being like Blade Runner. It may be healthier, as forest grow back. Or unhealthier as we revert to coal.
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