The US EIA has released a 350 page report assessing the world shale gas resources (for 32 selected nations). While the huge US shale gas bonanza is well known, the wealth of shale gas in the rest of the world was not as widely known prior to the publishing of this report. As the technology and expertise for developing this resource spreads out from North America to Europe, Asia, South America, and Oceania, we can expect the global energy equation to change drastically—just as it has changed recently within the US and Canada. The take-home message is that humans have barely scratched the surface of global hydrocarbon resources. By the time they begin to scratch the surface, they should be ready to move on to advanced safe fission and fusion, as well as a number of other energy sources considered impractical at this time.