Current plans for alternative energy sources are not moving rapidly enough to sufficiently fulfill our energy needs by the time peak oil arrives. Although there is much discussion about the various different theories that could generate energy and come to replace our current unsustainable addiction to oil, almost all of such discussions are on the grass-root levels, with very few actual research and development underway that would bring about effective results.

            The immense scale of energy needed to be generated by alternative energy sources would require at least 20 years of research and development, some scientists estimate. This would also require large sums of government funding as well as support from science community. But it doesn’t seem that the world just isn’t sufficiently motivated to hurry this process along.

Perhaps what America requires is an energy crisis, one severe enough to jolt a critical mass of people to rally behind alternative energy—a rally that means more than just buying a hybrid vehicle.