Peak Oil

Environmental Luddites cream themselves over the prospect of Peak Oil. Not that I am skeptical of this occuring, rather, I adhere to the concept and believe that we have if not are on the way within the next decade of reaching that stage.

Of course, there are some issues that counter the Peak Oil argument, such as the presence of sources that were once economically unviable but now feasible once oil prices got higher (e.g. Alberta oil shales, Colorado tar sands). So in essence, we may have mapped nearly all potential sources, but not all potential sources have been tapped and depleted. The other is that continual technological innovation will eventually reduce demand for petroleum. This has been ongoing steadily but has been completely overshadowed by population growth.

What I would hope for is that within the next 20 years or so, most of the developed world would devise means of shifting our resources away from petroleum and into more renewable forms of energy. However, currently we don't have a lot of vision going around thinking on how this is to come about. I suppose the doomsday message that Peak Oil usually comes with is the only way to get things going.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Gechmir

I still hold to the Global Warming one being a crock. If anything, you'd see lots of smog, issues with respiratory functions in certain regions, and lots of acid rain.

I've mentioned this before in the global warming thread (or perhaps I didn't), but I strongly think that global warming (nee: climate change) is the wrong thing to focus on when it comes down what we put out in the air. Like you, I am more interested in reducing the local and regional affects of air pollution which would have a far greater impact on our well-being than chasing after reducing global temperatures a degree or two. Focusing on smaller-scale effects would invariably mean we will have to reduce our emissions to create a healthier living environment. But instead, we get the sort of thing that grabs people's attentions: global warming. That's hype propaganda for you.

Originally Posted by Soluzar

Yeah, I've heard of such things as oil shales, but I was under the impression that it was still economically unviable to extract them. If it costs more fuel to extract this oil than eventually will be derived from the process, then it's a waste of time. Do you have any reputable sources outside the oil industry that can clarify this matter?

Unfortunately no. As a geology major, I am knee deep when it comes to catching wind of the affairs of oil companies (though I'm quite far in the telephone line), so I can't provide you with more neutral sources. To be honest, given the increase in demand for people like me from these companies, it seems like they are embarking upon a new age of exploration and acquisition as we get into more sophisticated processes to get what we cannot earlier, or as I am also told, there is a severe generation gap in the industry and we are filling in for the retiring Baby Boomers.

There's nowhere I can't reach.