Discovery Channel repeats Greg Palast's peak oil mistake

[IDemo]

Watching the show "2057" tonight on the Discovery Channel, hosted by physicist Michio Kaku. Part of the premise is that fifty years from now, oil is finally beginning to 'run out', and the two planetary superpowers, China and the US, only then begin to fight over the remaining reserves. All the while as space-elevator dwelling scientists work heroically to develop the solar photo-voltaic material that will save the day.

Disappointing, but only a bit surprising, that a physicist would get the whole scenario wrong like this. Greg Pallast made the same mistake, and was addressed in this open letter by peak oil authority Richard Heinberg. It is not when the last well extracts the last drop with a loud slurping sound that the urgency begins. The problem lies much sooner than fifty years from now, when the best efforts of oil companies and countries to produce refinable product fall short of global demand. And when the costs associated with extraction and refining make it more reasonable to leave it in the ground, demand destruction won't come quickly enough to prevent economic havoc. But the polar bears will thank us, if any still exist..

[Strelnikov_]

1. Um, looks like things got started about 50 years early

And what about Russia?

They seem to be making an comeback with all those SUV go-juice revenues.

[jwirr]

2. You are indeed correct. Especially since *ss has totally destabilized

the middle east. Left alone we would have at least had a chance to buy their oil but now they hate us and for good reason. My guess is that most Arab nations will sell their oil to anyone before they sell it to us.