However, to me it’s a certainty that oil from here on out is a more difficult, economically and environmentally expensive game than it has been in the past. The task for journalists is how to cover this evolving new reality, whatever it is, while it’s taking shape, without latching onto the easiest idea that comes along. For example, it’s become common to complain that China’s growing oil demand is a financial, ecological, and diplomatic catastrophe that will lead to a confrontation between the U.S. and China, more mayhem in Sudan, and higher oil prices even if U.S. consumers reduce consumption. All of that may come to pass. But it’s also true that the U.S. currently imports a million barrels of oil a day through China, in the form of finished goods, which means we’re not competing with China so much as collaborating with and benefiting from their policies while underestimating our own oil dependence. The complexities of the global oil market demand more initiative from reporters.

Tomorrow’s debate question: Has the press effectively described the science and scientific uncertainty behind charting a peak oil supply curve? How could they do better?

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