I've noticed more and more people discussing this whole notion of "peak oil," that is, that earth has reached its maximum energy production and that civilisation as we know it will drastically change within the next few decades as we run out of oil and our poor oil-dependent economies shrivel and die.

Check some of these out:







I find that most of this talk is just scare-tactic sensationalist BS, though the motives vary from site to site.

What do you think?



Basically, I don't buy into any of this peak oil business because I have no reason to believe that we're anywhere near running out of oil.
1. Oil estimates aren't 100% accurate/true, as there are many scenarios for which these don't account.
2. Oil companies are businesses, and saying "oops, we're out!" is bad for business.

I'm not saying we'll be fine if we continue on as an oil-dependent civilisation, nor do I condone this behavior. I simply do not believe we are running out of oil and are on the brink of a global energy crisis as a result.

I put this in "politics" instead of "science" because I feel this issue is much more political.

"Out" is bad for business, but 'might run out soon' drives up prices.

I don't know what is still available, but I do think that we as a consumers should try to find alternative fuels. It's not a matter of there not being any left, I just think that something better, with less negative consequences, should be found.

When they start to apply this technology in the mainstream, including for mass power productions, then the oil companies will start to lose power, as Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology's main fuel is water. You can synthesize Hydrogen from your home water supply, and the only by-product is Oxygen, which will, in large quantities, help massively combat greenhouse gasses and global warming

Right..... except that where/how are we going to produce the power to produce the H? Electrolysis consumes quite a bit of energy, and it certainly won't be cheap for everyone.

BP is no longer British Petroleum, they're "Beyond Petroleum." It's beginning to happen already - "oil" companies are now all "energy" companies and are starting to invest/buy up sustainable energy production. Sure, gas prices may go up.... but we'll be paying through the nose for power to separate H from O to drive vehicles.

I'll admit, I'm a strong critic of hydrogen cars, in part because it's a very energy intensive process and in part because they show no indication of ever working in a colder climate, which is where I live.

I dunno I think the world would be kinda cool without oil.. well the camping part and living off nature like it was intended.. not the whole rioting and end of the world aspect..

The point is moot. The real issue at hand is not whether or not we have enough of it, but whether we should be burning it and putting it into the air that we breathe.

Sensationalism? Sensationalism is going to kill us all and end the earth! Run! Hide your children! Learn Russian! FLEE!

Edit: I don't believe it either, there's always an energy source if you're willing to look.

I believe a peak exists but I don't believe we've reached it. Plus we're always finding new sources of oil, sometimes in way large quantities.

As for how to get the energy to produce hydrogen cells, Nuculur!

Here's one I loved watching ..

<a href='http://www.plime.com/redir.p?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLmgKojTwmM&amp;eurl' class='plime' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'><b>flash video</b></a>

PEAK OIL .. As far as I have seen,Chris Martenson tries to make the most sense of peak oil having been reached globally. If you take the "Crash Course" and read the comments there, you can see that he has attracted what I consider the most knowledgeable people on the subject, and make your own assessments from there.

READ"The United States is insolvent" (Dec. 2006) at "Financial Sense online"

I'm sure there's a limited quantity. I'm just not sure how limited it is at this point in time. The world is a huge place. The earth's crust is 18 miles deep alone. we've come no where near drilling that deep. There may be a whole other ocean of oil below it.... or some kind of alternative fuel.

That's too deep for oil - P and T are beyond the "oil window." I agree that there's probably a whole new "ocean" of oil out there, but I just think it's in a place where we haven't look too hard, yet.

Check T. Bone Picken's plan. I think there's a lot of merit there.

Compressed natural gas could be the way to go. I'm just a bit of a skeptic on his wind power plan. I was listening to a guy speak the other day and he said that in order to run of of wind power you'd still have to run a back up power plant when it wasn't windy due to the fact that there's no way to store massive amounts of power. And the back up plant would have to run 24/7 because they can't start and stop immediately.

In many areas, it would be entirely possible to power most of a city off of wind. No, it may not be a solution for all locations, but trust me...Some places, the wind never stops.

I think so too.

I found This audio on peak oil at Corporate Watchdog Radio

Look into this Company ... but keep in mind, it's only viable when crude is over $100 per barrel.

Props for finding all the links... now I need to find the time to read them!

Last one for now .. the most comprehensive all-in-one site I found. It'called ..

BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS

I thought this would be a neat zombie thread to dig out of its grave.

Now that oil is worth significantly less than it was last summer, does anyone still worry about "peak oil" and running out?

Is anyone even concerned with the price of oil?


IMO, oil is significantly undervalued right now. I think people are headed for a rude awakening, as oil prices will likely skyrocket again as soon as demand increases a pinch.

i think when oil does run out or even before there will be alternative fuels in convenient enough ways to use. or we just get used to it (whatever the more inconvenient process is to get around)