Tuesday, May 13, 2008

We Must Imagine a Life Without Oil

"It used to be that only environmentalists and paranoids warned about running out of oil." But times are changing and there is more and more awareness of the peak oil phenomenon. The ever-rising price of oil and other events are making it abundantly clear that the oil industry is in crisis. "With global demand inexorably rising, a limited supply will bring higher, more volatile prices and eventually shortages that could provoke -- to quote the title of the must-see peak oil documentary -- the end of suburbia."

They quote eminent insider James Schlesinger, who has served as chair of the Atomic Energy Commission, head of the CIA, Defense Secretary, Energy Secretary and adviser to countless oil companies, as saying "It's no longer the case that we have a few voices crying in the wilderness. The battle is over. The peakists have won." Okay, a thoroughly entrenched insider such as Schlesinger to say such a thing is an indication of how far we have come. Similarly, they also quote Jeroen van der Veer, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell as saying "After 2015, easily accessible supplies of oil and gas probably will no longer keep up with demand."

The United States with its addiction to oil and it's car-centric infrastructure is very vulnerable to this problem.

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