Resources for Peak Oil
March 10, 2008
Lake Saint Louis, MO
by Kris Kolk
Last week, I gave a quick explanation of peak oil. As promised, I’ve assembled some resources so readers may check into this topic for themselves. In addition to the following information, MegaDisasters’ show tonight is called Oil Apocalypse. It will be on the History Channel at 10:00 p.m.
Make your own determination. It’s certainly worth looking into, especially since oil prices recently were reported as surging over $107 per barrel. The following are mere samplings of the peak oil topic, but good places to start.
The identification of a peak oil possibility started with the late Dr. M. King Hubbert, geophysicist and Chief Consultant (General Geology), Exploration and Production Research Division, Shell Development Company. In 1956, Hubbert predicted that U.S. oil production would peak in about 1970 and decline thereafter. He was the first to identify a peak, the graphed curve later named, Hubbert’s Curve or Hubbert’s Peak. See www.hubbertpeak.com.
Kenneth S. Deffeyes, a geologist who worked with Dr. M. King Hubbert at Shell Oil. Currently Deffeyes is a Professor Emeritus at Princeton. See Deffeye’s peak oil site here.
Matthew Simmons, oil industry insider. Simmons was the energy adviser to President George W. Bush and also authored Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy, which can be found at the Middendorf-Kriddell Library (338.2728 Simmons).
Richard Heinberg is a journalist and author of eight books including The Party’s Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies, which is at the Middendorf-Kriddell Library (333.8238 Heinberg).
Colin J. Campbell, PhD, petroleum geologist and founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas. See their website at www.peakoil.ie.
James Kunstler, social critic and author of The Long Emergency which can be found at the Spencer Road Library (303.4979 Kunstler). Also at the Spencer Road Library is Kunstler’s Home from Nowhere (307.12 Kunstler).
The Post Carbon Institute assists communities in an energy constrained world.
Matt Savinar is a blogger who runs the Life After the Oil Crash website.
Check out these videos:
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash is a DVD explaining peak oil. Find it at Corporate Parkway and Middendorf-Kriddell Libraries (622.3382 Crude).
The End of Suburbia www.endofsuburbia.com is a DVD tackling the coming consequences of suburban sprawl.
Peak Moment is a weekly half-hour TV series focusing on renewable energy topics. Many of their videos tackle the subject of peak oil. Find episodes on YouTube. Also visit the Peak Moment website.
Caution: The above resources have been known to turn skeptics into “peakniks.”
Above all: Don’t get discouraged. There are a variety of solutions and those will be addressed in upcoming columns.
Copyright 2008 Neighbors About Town