I know there is another side to the Peak Oil debate and CERA is at the forefront of the "we have nothing to worry about" point of view. The only true indicator of the plentifulness of a commodity, even with all the political distortions, is the price. The price of oil has tripled since 2003, therefore it is less available than it was just 3 or 4 years ago.
I've looked into Peak Oil quite a bit myself, and while some of the dire predictions of calamity and the end of civilization seem about as half-baked as the Y2K madness, there are reasons to be concerned about Peak Oil's effect on society. It is a managable problem if we can prepare for it and transition to a new energy source or sources. The real question is when, because nobody disagrees that it will eventually happen. People should not be lulled into complatency by the recent price drop in oil, because the world is going to need a lot more oil than we can produce at some point in the not too distant future, and the price will respond accordingly.
Most likely, Peak Oil will cause a severe world recession, especially if we do not prepare for it. However, on the other side of the energy gulf caused by Peak Oil I see a potentially huge economic boom, especially for altnerative energy suppliers, as the world spends incredible resources to meet its energy demands with new energy technologies. Also, the new energy technologies could deliver energy much more reliably and less expensively than fossil fuels, which could also provide a major economic boost to the consumer.
We should also look into using the 1 Trillion in oil shale that is apparently under the Green River in Colorado. No joke, there's a boatload of oil under western Colorado. I know there are major issues regarding extracting and refining it, but its there for our use, if necessary. |
