http://joss.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/2010/05/13/peak-oil-and-climate-change-notes/

I worry that Peak Oil has serious implications for the development of a P2P culture which, in its current embryonic form, remains largely reliant on cheap energy, globalisation and economic growth, all of which are threatened by dwindling oil supplies over the next decade. As liquid fuels becomes more expensive and difficult to source, economies will experience zero or degrowth, providing opportunities for more authoritarian modes of government that emphasise the need for ‘stability’ and ‘efficiency’. I also fear that Net access is similarly likely to peak over the next decade and then decline as it becomes too expensive to maintain the current infrastructure.

In addition, if governments decide to seriously tackle climate change, it will require the full resources of developed countries, much like when in a national state of war, again providing further opportunities for greater authoritarianism, in contrast to the distributed, autonomous sites of P2P production.

Although I am still inclined to think that long-term, a P2P commons-based culture can still thrive, I think we face decades of struggle during a difficult transition to alternative forms of less intensive sources of energy.