That's because people love the luxury of the first world lifestyle. People will fight tooth and nail for a better quality of life no matter what. This lifestyle that the vast majority of people desire can only be accomplished by an economy that utilizes petroleum based fuels and products (i.E. Gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel, paints, plastics, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, and many other chemicals). Renewable energy and electric cars are a fallacy because those things are expensive. The more money something costs, the more oil went into its development.