Don't get in an uproar, JLM. I understand what you're saying. And of course it's perfectly true and even, dare I say it?. . . conservative.
Since the dawn of time, we've changed the way we do things as circumstances dictate. Hunting not good? We trap more, fish more, Organize bigger parties to hunt bigger critters. River shift course or spring run dry? We move to be closer to water. Soil play out and harvests get bad? We plant different fields. Over time we learn some. We rotate crops, come up with techniques like fertilizing. Need ways to get bigger loads from point A to point B faster? We develop steam engines and IC engines to replace the oxcarts and windjammers. When one technology quits working, or the materials get scarce, or we need more power, we improve techniques and develop new techniques.
And there are always people whose sense of self is so weak that they are emotionally invested in keeping everything exactly the way it was when they were young adults. The ones who say "We've always done it this way" as if that's some kind of universal declaration of goodness.
They're idiots.
What exactly we should do to satisfy our energy needs is open to debate. As time marches on, different sources will become cheaper, easier to use, and have fewer downsides. But the problems won't be solved by people who pick one or two sources and make a religion out of 'em.
