Monthly Archives: July 2007

Is This a False Alarm?

Posted on by

This is Chapter 2 of a booklet I am writing with assistance from folks at TheOilDrum.com.

Chapter 2: Is This a False Alarm?

As we look at the answers to these questions, we will see that the production decline discussed in Chapter 1: What Is Peak Oil? appears to be nearly immediate. Available methods for offsetting this decline appear to be too little, too late. This time the alarm is real.

1. It seems like people thought we were running out of oil in the 1970s, and then all of our problems went away. Why is the situation different now?

Let’s look again at the graph of oil production for the US-48 states, Alaska, and the North Sea: Continue reading →

What Is Peak Oil?

Posted on by

This is Chapter 1 of a Peak Oil Booklet I am working on, with the assistance of folks from TheOilDrum.com.

Chapter 1: What Is Peak Oil?

In this chapter, we discuss some of the basic issues relating to peak oil and the expected worldwide decline in oil production.

1. What is peak oil?

“Peak oil” is the term used to describe the situation when the amount of oil that can be extracted from the earth in a given year begins to decline because geological limitations are reached. Extracting oil becomes more and more difficult, so that costs escalate and the amount of oil produced begins to decline. The term peak oil is generally used to describe a decline in worldwide production, but a similar phenomenon exists for individual countries and other smaller areas. Continue reading →

Speech from 1957 Predicting Peak Oil

Posted on by

Rear Admiral Hyman Rickover gave an amazing speech in 1957 that predicted many of the energy-related issues we are now dealing with. Among other things, the speech talks about

• The relationship between fossil fuels and economic growth.

• The relationship between fossil fuels and military power.

• The fact that oil, natural gas, and coal are expected to peak, and the approximate timeframe. Continue reading →