Once again the debate has intensified over whether energy as a commodity is running out. Just six or seven years ago the world seemed awash in oil, yet today many pundits predict the end of oil and indeed the end of the fossil-fuel era.1 With its recent merger with the California-based oil company Unocal, Chevron has placed a bet on ever-increasing oil prices.2 Two other oil giants, BP and ExxonMobil, on the other hand, have publicly stated that resources appear plentiful.3