There's a topic to be discussed at the intersection of economics and the environment that doesn't get the attention it deserves. The topic is "peak oil."

"Peak oil refers to the time when humanity is no longer able to produce more oil globally than we did the year before," according to www.seattleoil.com, a Web site my brother, Rob Nelson, runs for a peak oil awareness group.


Regardless of when peak oil happens, we must deal with its implications.

Our lifestyles are already changing with higher oil costs. They will change even more radically as this story plays out. We should prepare for this now.

We should protect our farmland. Relative to residents' incomes, valley cities were among the most unaffordable places to live in the country the past couple of years. Still, we continued to build homes on prime farmland. Now our cities rank highest nationally in terms of home foreclosure rates; we sacrificed farmland for unaffordable homes. Farmland and farming operations are increasing in value as food prices rise, partially because food is now used as motor fuel. We can't afford to lose valuable farmland.