Just in the years 2007 to 2009, for every barrel of oil produced in the world, 1.6 barrels of new reserves were added.

This is the key number. We’re discovering oil faster than we’re burning it. Obviously this cannot continue indefinitely but it pulls ‘develop fusion power’ and similar exit strategies onto the realistic part of the table.

The other serious issue is exponential population growth, which will always hit Malthusian limits. But apparently, sufficient wealth automatically solves that problem too.