My wife and I just watched a History Channel show, "After Oil." It is one of the most unintentionally funny shows we have seen in a long time. The premise is that, one day, all the undrilled oil in the world vansihes. Not used up, just vanished. Perhaps it has a temper tantrum; perhaps it is just out of town on a trip. Perhaps it has been stolen by aliens. However, this fantasy is to be taken seriously. The world after running out of oil or after some catastrophe has been a staple of science fiction since H.G. Wells. The...