News of oil price surge is nothing common these days. This is a no-return trend, whether people like it or not, just like globalization and global warming. These three phenomenon are intertwined and have the same root cause: limitless desire of lower to middle class people.
Jim Rodgers is one of the prominent advocates of preparing for peak oil, from pure investment opportunity point of view. He has been describing the trend in interviews and books (Hot Commodities) when few people, including the media, were listening to him.

I must admit that I find the press’s behavior curious. They interview people like me because we’re supposed to know things that they don’t know, and then when we hand them news they can use they turn contentious.
Hot Commodity

Another useful insights have been provided by Matthew Simmons.
Thomas L.Friedman is frantically shouting that we should all go green. A well-made documentary on oil peak is updated on Youtube.

My guess – what will happen in the post-peak oil era

• The word "Peak oil" will become obsolete, since it becomes the fact.
• Amtrak stock soars, and people start to travel by train in the US
• Owning a car becomes even more of a luxury and sign of richness in Asia. Mercedes, BMW, Lexus will never become extinct.
• Every city becomes overcrowded, since people can no more afford long commute and start living close to the office. Few people convert their countryside home to their offices – staying alone in a house for whole day is not considered a luxury.
• Hong Kong and Singapore finally stops freezing the offices in the summer