If only existing oil were used only for fuel. Look at the ludicrous amount of non-essential plastic packaging on almost every product these days. All of this packaging is produced from oil. The taxing of excess plastic packaging would already help extend the time that we can still use oil as a fuel for transport.
Slightly off subject, but can anyone tell me why the diesel-electric principle used in trains cannot be used for private cars or at least commercial trucks? In this system a diesel (or turbine) runs at constant speed (greatly reducing consumption) and produces electricity through an attached generator. The electricity drives the wheels (in fact each wheel could become an electric motor in itself - the axle being the stator and the wheel the rotor). 4-wheel drive is achieved electronically rather than mechanically, gearbox is redundant and braking can be electric and regenerative.
