We've done it before, Dale. Remember the accelerated curve that US education got in its rush to the moon? How it turned out two generations of skilled and highly paid engineers, scientists, technicians, and etc...?

Or the Manhattan Project, which combined the forces of science and money to create... a horrible weapon, but hey, it was still technologically impressive. And if we can safely harness nuclear power it may ultimately be one of the things that saves not only us, but future residents of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chernobyl, and Three Mile Island from the ravages of an unending series of resource wars.

The fact is, petroleum-based society is facing a sure decline, and unless we revitalise our economy with real investments in our own future, we and our children certainly face a world of less and less opportunity, and could in fact be facing a civilisation-threatening collapse.