Mr. Sandman, give me a dream

Forget the rosy forecasts of the Middle Eastern branch of OPEC: Peak Oil is either here or not far off. How can you tell?

The oil sheiks are starting to talk about researching "alternative energy" sources.

"Our competitors, the alternative energy providers, are intensively pursuing research programs aimed at reducing the domination of oil and gas in the global energy market," Abdullah Salatt, Qatar's representative to OPEC, said. "Likewise, we should have our own independent programs."

Like how you can generate 30 miles per gallon from sand, perhaps?

Maybe that's a little insensitive on our part, but it's comforting to think that when petroleum is a thing of the past, at least we have green pastures and clean water for our horses.