The video above efficiently trims the discussion to one hour. The debate proceeded as I expected.

Former Shell Oil exec John Hofmeister tries to frighten us with predictions of high gasoline prices, reminders of lining up and fighting over gasoline, and emotional appeals that we give our grandchildren our accepted way of life. He blames a lack of political will, here and around the world, for not bringing us more oil - with OPEC the primary villain. He believes that environmental concerns, such as with Keystone XL pipeline can be handled. He dismisses the Deepwater Horizon environmental debacle as human rather than systemic error.

In very careful academic language, Tad Patzek tells us that the technical limitations will overwhelm the political will, and that we should be more careful with the oil we still have, and learn to live with less. The availability of water limits a lot of alternative fuels. He notes that China is a weak giant, and India is even weaker due to their tenuous water situation. From an energy standpoint, he compares Americans to sperm whales, Europeans to orca and Chinese to dolphins.