May 24, 2005
Peak Oil
About two months ago, James Howard Kunstler wrote an article for Rolling Stone entitled "The Long Emergency" about his view of what will happen as cheap oil runs out. (Sadly, I'm only now getting around to commenting.)
According to some estimates, global oil production will hit its "peak" sometime between now and 2010. Kunstler explores the transformation of our way of life and the rending of the social fabric that will take place as oil becomes scarce and we no longer have inexpensive sources of energy. His article is alarming - and alarmist - but makes some interesting observations. Worth a read.
This is an enormously important issue that will affect your life, so gird up your loins (ah, such a fine Biblical phrase) and inform yourself. Here's a link to a BoingBoing post about Kunstler's article with lots of commentary and links. And a post at kuro5hin entitled Saudi Oil Close To Peak - So What?. And a very informative article from Wikipedia about Hubbert peak.
National Geographic covered the issue about a year ago in an article called "The End of Cheap Oil". Their site is down at the moment, but if you can find a copy of the magazine, I recall the article being fairly informative. They also had an eerie photo of a suburban American family who brought all their petroleum-derived products out onto the lawn and posed for a picture.
(Related: Is it time for the U.S. to reconsider nuclear energy?)
24 May 19:57 | Link | Category: Current Events, Science