Where Is the Hirsch Report?

[4dsc]

Over the past few months controversy has raged over the timing of Peak Oil-the moment when global oil production will reach its all-time maximum and begin its inevitable descent.

The report's Executive Summary begins with the following paragraph:

The peaking of world oil production presents the U.S. and the world with an unprecedented risk management problem. As peaking is approached, liquid fuel prices and price volatility will increase dramatically, and, without timely mitigation, the economic, social, and political costs will be unprecedented. Viable mitigation options exist on both the supply and demand sides, but to have substantial impact, they must be initiated more than a decade in advance of peaking.

Hirsch et al. note that, "While greater end-use efficiency is essential, increased efficiency alone will be neither sufficient nor timely enough to solve the problem. Production of large amounts of substitute liquid fuels will be required." Further, "Mitigation will require a minimum of a decade of intense, expensive effort, because the scale of liquid fuels mitigation is inherently extremely large." Hirsch, et al., also point out that "The problems associated with world oil production peaking will not be temporary, and past 'energy crisis' experience will provide relatively little guidance."

As a country that is totally unprepared in the event that peak oil occurs this year or next, I wonder what it will take to wake the sheeple up??

[Warren Stupidity]

1. Haven't you heard?

We just passed the transportation bill - 280B or so - 80% goes to building/maintaining highways and 20% to mass transit. We are doing nothing about the crisis. We just passed the energy bill which does absolutely nothing to deal with the crisis. Our 'leaders' are driving us full speed off a cliff and their solution is to make sure every seat has a personal dvd player.

[n2doc]

2. We'll never know until after the peak

While it is happening, and well after, we will be regaled with tales of "huge new oil deposits" being found and "new technologies" that will extract even more oil. The fact is even Saudi Arabia has reached Peak, and it is all down hill from here. $60 oil is gonna seem cheap, just like $30 oil seems now.
Some people are waking up, slowly- witness the success of the Prius. But the constant propaganda from advertising , the constant push that we should desire the biggest, most macho vehicles, is hard to break. Waking up will be a long, hard process involving significant financial hardship.