A sign of the times: Oil-Rich Nations Use More Energy, Cutting Exports. I also saw in a recent Economist that China had moved from being a coal exporter to being a coal importer. These shifts represent the crossing of Hubbert’s peak, in this case the peak is with coal instead of oil, but the principle is the same: non-renewable resources by definition will run out.

This article identifies six places on the planet where political turmoil is anticipated because of climate change: Nepal, Indonesia, Nigeria, United States, the Arctic, and East Africa.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1206/p14s01-sten.html
The reasons for the turmoil are varied.