There are signs that the age of petroleum has passed its zenith. Adjusted for inflation a barrel of crude oil now sells for three times its long-run average. The large western oil companies which cartellised the industry for much of the 20th century are now selling more oil than they find and are thus in the throes of liquidation.
People only talk about what a joyous experience it is but there is terror: Your life as you know it is over. It's over the day that child is born. It's over and something completely new starts.
