A peak oil primer
March 6, 2008
Lake Saint Louis
by Kris Kolk
Oil prices almost reached $106 a barrel yesterday. Since this is a hot topic, a discussion about peak oil seems timely. In this column, I’ll give a tidy explanation.
I’m no expert. I’m simply listening to the rumblings of those who know—geologists and oil professionals—and passing their findings on to you. In a forthcoming column, I’ll provide readers with tons of resources so they may check into peak oil for themselves.
One more thing…after studying all this, don’t give up hope. There are movements afoot bringing communities together, getting a grip and preparing ourselves for the future. To me, this is the silver lining.
What is peak oil? Peak oil is the point at which half of the world’s oil has been extracted. After we reach the peak, oil is more difficult and expensive to get.
Peak oil is often described by using a bell-shaped curve, the highest point being the peak.
The life of the oil supply can be compared with a human life. Once we are “over the hill,” our bodies become more difficult (and expensive) to deal with, and then, no more life. Or in this case, no more oil.
The reason there is so much hubbub about peak oil right now is because many scientists and professionals in the oil field seem to think we are close to or have exceeded the peak already.
And these people are extremely pessimistic about wind, solar and hydrogen being adequate replacements. They say these solutions will provide some energy, but not nearly as much as we are used to. And, the world demands more and more oil every day.
Of course, there is still a lot of oil in the ground. The difference on this half of the peak is that instead of tapping into an oil well and having the black gold gush out, remaining oil must be dug out…like a mining operation. Incredibly more expensive, and the oil retrieved is questionable in quality.
Why don’t we just drive less? Well, the peak oil problem extends much further than fueling our cars. Oil has been fueling our economy. Here is a short list of what oil does for us: heating, cooling, transportation, manufacturing, construction, refrigeration, water, agriculture, lighting, medical equipment, providing the power to wash our clothes and dishes, and much, much more.
Without oil or to use less oil, we seriously need to change our lifestyles.
Stay tuned for some peak oil resources as well as changes ordinary people can make. I’ll address those soon in upcoming columns.
Oh, one last note…if you are totally not agreeing with this whole peak oil thing, that’s OK. The same solutions to help us through a post-oil transition will make sense to those concerned about global warming, too.
Actually, because so many issues are arising at the same time (peak oil, peak water, peak population, peak climate), many are giving it all one blanket label—“peak everything.”
Copyright 2008 Neighbors About Town