Don't Panic, but be Smart.(Column)

Byline: Kevin A. Wilson

Any time we write about alternative energy for cars-like the BMW Hydrogen 7 on page 36-we hear from readers who accuse us (and accusatory is the tone) of either a) marching in lock step with leftist environmentalist warnings about global warming, which these critics contend is either unproven or not due to human action, or b) contributing to an unwarranted panic about the supply of oil, which, again in the view of critics, will be abundant for many years to come.

We don't know with certainty that climate change is caused by the stuff we've spewed into the atmosphere. But certainty is nearly irrelevant: Most of the developed world has agreed to act as if that were the case, imposing limits on future carbon emissions and pursuing alternatives. America can try to stand alone on this score but at the risk of falling behind on technological development. The pursuit of efficiency becomes its own economic reward.

The second debate centers on the theory of "peak oil.'' Recently, the respected Cambridge Energy Research Associates, headed by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Daniel Yergin, challenged the notion that peak oil has already arrived and disputed the entire theory. CERA says we have three times as much oil as others claim, plenty for 25 more years.

Now, 25 years is right in the middle of the ...