I'm afraid you grossly misunderestimate the phenomenal blockheadness of many politicians, all the more as you go towards to the top.
Not to say they are all idiots. You actually find a lot of smart and dedicated in the lower rungs. But the political rat race rewards the apparatchiks who have no other venue for social promotion and the smart and dedicated set just bug off to better careers outside of politics where they can have a life without having to deal with the blockheads.
"Thinks we need more prohibitions."
"Thinks the rich and the poor are not structurally related"
heh....I'd be interested to see any results. Maybe start with the UN Security Council, then the U.N.--
"Thinks that global climate change is primarily an economic problem."
I can't resist.
Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.
Some people high up do know. But because of the workings of democracy they are constrained. They can't act against the will of the people without risking being thrown out. And also, for every peak oil guy telling them stuff, there is a Yergin telling the opposite.
Matt Simmons was an energy advisor to Bush. He has heard the stuff. But there are plenty of other advisors saying other stuff. Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
