gb #5 hirsch report

Over the past 30 years, most economic studies of the impact of oil supply disruptions assumed that the interruptions were temporary and that each situation would shortly return to “normal.” Thus, the major focus of most studies was determination of the appropriate fiscal and monetary policies required to minimize negative economic impacts and the development of policies to help the economy and labor market adjust until the disruption ended. Few economists considered a situation where the oil supply shortfall may be long-lived (a decade or more).

If you haven't ready the study prepared for the United States Department of Energy last year entitled "Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation, & Risk Management you should download load it here and read it right now. It's commonly known as the Hirsch report and it is a telling document in terms of what sort of response is neccesary in regards to peak oil. We need decades not years.