Hi George. There's a problem you didn't address, may not know, or believe? The world has passed peak oil (I'll go with 2018). As you point out, it was a once in a planet-lifetime event that created it in the first place.

You might read "B" pieces "Honest Sorcerer", or Alice Friedmann here https://energyskeptic.com/ I have a story on it in the works now.

The planet can support around 2 billion without oil. It's where I think we're going when I look at the numbers. It'll probably be much less because we'll swing farther in that direction. Anyway, there is NO substitute for oil/gas at the moment. The problem with wind/solar is they're built with oil/gas and can't generate enough energy themselves to replicate. They stop working after 20 years.