End of the oil age in sight?

LONDON -- First there was wood. Then it was replaced by coal. Then coal was replaced by oil. Is it now the turn of oil -- which currently accounts for some two-thirds of the world's primary energy -- to be pushed aside by other energy sources and devices?

In the mid-1980s, the last time oil prices peaked dramatically and global oil supplies were put in doubt, there was a dramatic dash by consumers and corporations for more energy-efficient vehicles and devices in both factory and home for using less oil.

But at the same time, as demand for oil fell around the world, governments pushed for more supplies, the oil-producing countries turned on the taps and new and more remote (and costly) oil fields were opened up, encouraged by the high price for a barrel of crude oil.