>>8
Yes, I have studied the issue of energy depletion for almost five years. You are correct - Uranium is indeed finite, and if nuclear energy is heavily ramped up (as it will likely have to be, just to keep the lights on, and not freeze to death), it too will disappear in less than 100 years. Maybe less than that. The same goes for coal if its use skyrockets (it will).
Oil is so important (focused on), because without it, how do you fly a plane? How do you create the more than 200 byproducts (plastics, etc) without it? Last but not least in any way, the issue of transportation. The problem with the continental United States is that it is so spread out - it was created with the mindset that petroleum would always be cheap and abundant.
Then there is the issue of agriculture. Without massive fossil fuel inputs, it simply won't work. It takes (on average) 10 calories of energy to create 1 calorie of food energy. Heavy farming machinery needs petrol or it doesn't run. Massive amounts of now non-arable land (over fertilized for years) needs fertilizer (natural gas based), or crops simply will not grow.
Oil is so important because without it, we don't eat. We can't travel long distances. Modern medicine cannot function. Construction of just about everything becomes nearly impossible. The implications are absolutely enormous. It truly is a crisis on a scale our species has never experienced before, and never will again.
My apologies for ranting and derailing this thread.