In the fourth-season episode of (The New) Doctor Who, The Sontaran Stratagem, a young genius named Luke Rattigan, with the help of the alien enemy, developed ATMOS: an emission scrubber that eliminated all pollution from the cars that had them installed. When The Doctor investigated ATMOS at Rattigan’s academy (yes, the runt had an Academy) his first comment was a backhanded compliment: “I was just thinking, what a responsible eighteen year old. Inventing zero carbon cars? Saving the world…”

Luke responds smugly: “Takes a man with vision.” To this The Doctor replied: “Mmm, blinking vision. ‘Cause ATMOS means more people driving, more cars, more petrol. End result: the oil’s gonna run out faster than ever. The ATMOS system could make things worse.” (Doctor Who Transcripts)

As it turns out, there is a a real-life Luke Rattigan, and his name is Klaus Lackner. (Allahpundit on Hot Air has the report.) A real-life CO2 scrubber, fancy that! Except the fictional Doctor’s assessment isn’t really as fictional. Scrubbing CO2 in massive amounts worldwide might help. It might be another step in the local terraforming efforts of greenies. It could be the topic of a SciFi book, but what if all that carbon out there is what’s stopping us from slipping into an ice age? And what if the law of unitended consequences kicks in and produces a boom in the use of oil?

There’s plenty of talk about peak oil, alternative fuels, T. Boone Pickens, concurrent development, and the need to phase out our need for petrol-based energy. Pickens makes a great point about how our economy is paying our enemies for the fuel we need to sustain itself. There will come a time that our nation will be thrall to those who supply oil. Sometimes I wonder if we already are.

I’m a strong believer in incrimental concurrent development. The best solution is never the most abrupt, or the most radical. And boy, do I get into arguments over that world view. Alternative fuel research and research into overall implementation is important. We also know that this kind of change is not an overnight thing.

But let’s fancy the idea that it might actually be an overnight thing. What if, tomorrow we discover the means for near-limitless energy, renewable and clean? What if tomorrow the entire worldwide oil cartel is rendered irrelevant, their economies completely devastated? OPEC is well aware of what we are trying to achieve. Maybe it’s time they took responsibility for their future, too, and prepare for the day when their wells run dry and we are the ones left standing.