Peak Oil

The "peak oil" story could be useful to scare people into conserving resources, but that appears unlikely. People aren't interested in this story. The candidates aren't parading this one around. Many people haven't heard and others are either unwilling to believe that global oil production has or will soon peak, or they do not realize the extent to which the world's economies are powered by oil. Some people are taking this seriously. Last night I went to a party with a friend who described his work on a solar concentrator. A large satellite dish type mirror that concentrates the sun's energy intensely on a single point. This energy is used to boil water and the resulting steam used to power an electric generator. His designs require that all components be readily available items that people already have, which precluded solar panels, fuel cells, etc. He's planning for the worse I guess.

Check out the articles on peak oil:

Peak Oil - A turning Point for Mankind: This plot shows the estimated depletion of the world’s oil and natural gas liquids, which are derived from gas, showing the effects on the principal regions. From:

ExxonMobil The Lamp, Number1-2003: "For example, we estimate that world oil and gas production from existing fields is declining at an average rate of about 4 to 6 percent a year. To meet projected demand in 2015, the industry will have to add about 100 million oil-equivalent barrels a day of new production. That's equal to about 80 percent of today's production level. In other words, by 2015, we will need to find, develop and produce a volume of new oil and gas that is equal to eight out of every 10 barrels being produced today. In addition, the cost associated with providing this additional oil and gas is expected to be considerably more than what industry is now spending."

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | When the last oil well runs dry: "Aspo suggests the key date is not when the oil runs out, but when production peaks, meaning supplies decline. It believes the peak may come by about 2010. "

CNN.com - World oil and gas 'running out' - Oct. 2, 2003

And much more on the web:
Google Search: "peak oil"
And in the news:
Google Search: "peak oil"