Green Daily

Peak oil is the idea that we're running low on fossil fuels, with interesting implications for our current way of life. The idea is not that every well will suddenly run dry, just that we won't have enough oil to meet demand, meaning the end of the cheap, readily available energy on which our civilization is based. While peak oil won't stop the world from spinning, it could have Mad Max-like implications for industrial society. Consequences could include widespread blackouts, the virtual collapse of transportation infrastructure in industrialized countries and a shortage of petroleum-based chemical fertilizers necessary to grow most of our food.

Peak oil is confusing because it's fertile ground for conspiracy theorists, who fall into two principal camps: those who believe that peak oil is here, and that government and big business are lying about it, and those think we're nowhere near peak oil, and the government and big business are lying about that.

However, there's growing evidence that if peak oil isn't upon us already, it soon will be. Oil prices are hovering near all-time records, global demand is higher than ever, and OPEC is saying they won't (or can't?) increase production. In the meantime, no major new oilfields are being found. Recently, Jeroen van der Veer, the CEO of Shell Oil essentially went on record as saying that peak oil was a virtual certainty within 8 years or so.

However, the timing of the peak oil won't really be known until its too late. It's like when your gas gauge hits the red line - you know you're in trouble, but you can't be sure exactly when you're going to have to get out and walk. Still, the potential impact can't be underestimated. . Agriculture in particular is dependent on oil, a fact which has some very frightening implications.

Not nearly enough. What's desperately needed is a build-out of efficient alternative sources of energy like wind and solar, and soon. While this is starting to happen, it may be too little, too late. A serious peak oil crisis would mean the absence of energy resources needed to put up the alternative infrastructure in the first place. Even some hardcore environmentalists are flirting with the notion that nuclear power, for all its flaws, may be the only way to address both climate change and the imminent energy crisis without catastrophe. We also need some serious planning at a national and international level, and real money allocated to finding new ways to power civilisation. Unfortunately, in many countries and especially the US, this is simply not happening.

In the meantime, individuals can do their part by driving less, turning down the heat, and taking other energy saving measures. Adding solar panels or a personal wind turbine to your home would be a great idea, and it might also be worthwhile to grow a little garden. Eating food shipped from the other side of the world may soon be a thing of the past.

Disast-o-meter rating? 6/10

It's going to happen, the questions are when, and whether we're doing enough to mitigate the worst possible effects.

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