It has always been about the oil (with a methane chaser).
Former Commerce Sec. Evans Admits Peak Oil Has Arrived
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/2/6/82022/41225. . .
EVANS: Chris, that is my bottom line. The world is producing oil, the Middle East, every country at its full capacity and it's very unlikely that we're going to be able to see supply in the world grow from the levels where we are right now. There's a debate about that. I'm one that falls in the camp that says it's going to be very, very hard to do that. But what I do know is China needs to continue to grow, India needs to continue to grow, America needs to continue to grow. So what that simply says is we've got to develop new forms of energy for the United States and the world.Cheney in '99, Energy Task Force in '01, Evans the other day. How can anyone doubt that what we are seeing are the opening acts of what Heinberg calls the 'Last Man Standing' scenario.