The problem with todays society is, unless something bad is going to happen or there are incredible benefits, nobody will try and improve things.
The global warming scare is the perfect example. Until recently, alternative fuel sources were a very VERY small thing that were experiments at a few tiny places. Now, with the fear that "oh my god polar caps are melting, we have to do something fast", technology is growing at a faster rate.
Whether it is true or not, i'm not getting into that debate, what I can tell you is that nothing bad has come from the scare, just a larger push for technology. IMO the sooner the fossil fuels run out the better, it will finally force people to devote time and money into new engines (every single method of propulsion, with the exception of a few electric vehicles and hydrogen cars, uses fossil fuels), which is currently THE only thing that is holding us back from the furthest reaches of space.







