Who here, besides me, is really worried about peak oil?

[TroubleMan]

Forgive me if this has been discussed a lot already, but I haven't seen it.

I got no facts to post or any articles. I've read them, but don't have them handy (i.e. I'm being lazy).

However, I think it's pretty much a consensus that peak oil is going to be within the next 10 years. My feeling is that it will be a horrible turn for worse FOR THE WHOLE WORLD, unless we get on renewable fuels real quick.

What do you guys/gals think?

[Sliverofhope]

1. I am occasionally worried

but then I see that nobody ever seems to talk about it and wonder if it may not be valid. And then I read, and it seems valid, and I have no idea what to do. It needs large concerted action, and it is rarely spoken of.

[Dogmudgeon]

2. Me, since about 1975

You can read it in my profile.

I think the peak has come and gone.

We'll glide along at a plateau for a few years, then we'll begin the Long Slow Good-Bye.

I'm also concerned that an ice age -- Little or Major -- is getting started. A possible eruption of the Yellowstone "supervolacano" will certainly hasten its arrival.

--bkl

[FDRrocks]

6. I heard that on Thom Hartmann.

On his Thursday segment "Everything You Know is Wrong" a few months ago.

He had a professor on that talked about how Ice Ages go in time cycles, and that we are due for one.

Got any compelling links to that end?

EDIT: NVM just say your second post.

[HawkerHurricane]

11. What Yellowstone 'supervolacano'?

Dad works for the Nat'l Park Service in Yellowstone every Summer as a Ranger/Geologist. He's never mentioned it.

[NNN0LHI]

3. I worry about it but there are bigger fish to fry right now

The Chimpanzee in chief and his oil buddies don't want to hear about nothing but drill. drill. drill. We have to get Standard Oil out of the White House before we can even hope to get serious about renewables. My .02 cents.

Don

[On the Road]

4. I'm Not Convinced

I think there are still major deposits to be found.

But at some point the oil will run out. Will the global economy collapse? Not necessarily. There are a lot of other technologies -- it's just a question of making them cheap enough. There may be a long global recession before recovery, but I don't think it will be a worldwide collapse. Look at the price rise in the 70's, which was deliberate and probably bigger than what will happen as a result of market forces.

Maybe I'm too much of an optimist.

[mhr]

10. Petroleum Geologists

Would disagree. All those that are able to speak publicly say that the earth has been pretty much explored via satellites, seismic, and gelogic formation analysis.

The oil that is left to find is in smaller and smaller pockets as all the large reserves have been found.

The other problem is that as the smaller pockets are harvested it becomes ever more expensive to do so. Energy Returned on Energy Invested is used to detremine if it is economically viable to harvest a field.

In other words, if it costs more to develop the field than the field will return from the sale of oil, the oil is left in the ground.

[Dogmudgeon]

5. References and information points

Peak Oil:
www.DieOff.com

Ice Age and Abrupt Climate Change:
www.whoi.edu/institutes/occi/currenttopics/ct_abruptclimate.htm

Yellowstone Supervolcano:
many recent articles; query Google.com
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=yellowstone+supervolcano

Note: a lot of Fundy and New Age adherents are into this; some actually have compiled usable information.

Read. Weep. Bundle up.

--bkl

[TroubleMan]

9. The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics is a bitch

www.Dieoff.com is such a happy website....damn.

[liberalmuse]

7. That's why I'm voting for Dean...

he's one of the few candidates who is serious about working to find and fund energy alternatives.

[mhr]

8. Some Info

To answer your question, I am concerned about peak oil. It is a coming future problem that will effect most every man, woman, and child. Sadly, most people have no clue.

Background:

Peak Oil refers to global oil production and the year that a peak in global oil production will be reached. This is forecast as happening from now to about 2010.

After peak oil, global oil production will be in terminal decline as each successive year will see less and less oil coming to market.

The implication is that after peak oil each and every consumer will have to make do with less and less oil per capita.

On alternatives, there are no known substitutes for oil that will completely replace what we lose as the oil supply dries up.

In other words, no amount solar, wind, hydro, thermal, or natural renewable resource can replace what we use because none of these will produce a comparable amount of replacement energy.

Transportation will be the hardest hit by peak oil followed by agriculture which is dependent on fertilizers made from petroleum.

Like oil, natural gas will suffer the same terminal decline in production.

Fortunately, we can always burn coal and build more nuclear power plants for electricity.

For those interested, just do a Google search on "peak oil." There is much to learn.

For starters you might look at this book via Amazon.

The Party's Over

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0865714827/qid=1064286667/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-0366184-9020848?v=glance&s=books

[Toby109]

12. Too late to solve this one

The U.S. government should have woken up during the oil embargo of the 70s. Carter was willing to at least confront the problem but was shouted down by the Pollyannas.

My opinion? Think Great Depression then multiply that times 1000. Should be here round 2008-2012. No way in hell to implement a solution of that magnitude in that time frame. Oops.

Let the good times roll...