A far-flung and diverse group of economists, engineers, scientists, etc., form a loose association of proponents for what is known as Peak Oil. I don't think there is an "official" group or organization; however, enough of the same folks speak out about the same topic as to make them unified in purpose. That is, to warn the world of the phenomenon of Peak Oil.
What is Peak Oil?
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The Hubbert peak theory, also known as "peak oil", concerns the long-term rate of conventional oil (and other fossil fuel) extraction and depletion. It is named after American geophysicist M. King Hubbert, who created a model of known reserves, and proposed, in 1956, in a paper he presented [1] at a meeting of the American Petroleum Institute, that oil production in the continental United States would peak between 1965 and 1970; and that world production would peak in 2000. U.S. oil production peaked in 1971 [2], and has been decreasing since then. Global production did not peak in 2000. Supporters of peak theory suggest Hubbert's model did not account for the 1973 and 1979 OPEC oil shocks, which effectively reduced global demand for oil, thus delaying the peak. |
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Peak oil is the point in time when extraction of oil from the earth reaches its highest point and then begins to decline. We won't be able to say with certainty when we have reached peak oil until after the fact. Many experts say we have already reached the peak. Others say not yet, but within the next few years. What does Peak Oil herald? It heralds the end of cheap energy. In just a short 100 year period our civilization has built a high reliance on cheap, abundant energy. |
International Level: Ambassador / Political Participation: 595 59.5%
The biggest issue I take with this is how the amount of oil left always is blown out of proportion. Playing devils advocate, Canada recently found an oil reserve that is one of the biggest in the world. In the next ten years, they look to be the biggest oil producer and seller in the world. That means that our "peak" oil production will again moved back longer with the largest oil reserve yet barely tapped. I am all for alternative fuels. I think they are cheaper and better for our environment and should be used instead of petroleum. But in the mean time, there is no excuse for raising the price of oil. These types of reports are the reason being used to continually raise oil prices on people around the world, despite that fact that there is no real oil shortage, and raising the prices will never prevent an oil shortage. We should remember that oil usage will not just go away, it will have to slowly be replaced. Fuels like bio-diesel and vegetable oil diesel are already being produced by the millions of barrels and can run in most diesel engines with little to no modification.
READY FOR $262/BARREL OIL?
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Ref. https://money.cnn.com/2006/01/27/news/inter...rtune/index.htm