It pretty much does what it says on the tin…
“Peak oil” is starting to pop up in the media more and more these days. Everybody from Glenn Beck to the Sierra Club says that the world is running out of cheap oil and that this could be, well, inconvenient, for the global economy. But really, What is peak oil and what does it mean for you? And most importantly, is peak oil just another excuse for Beck to hawk Goldline or for Al Gore to seek more subsidies for solar panels?
Oil’s place in the global energy mix is transforming, including in mobility, which uses three-fifths of world oil (Image: Thinkstock/curraheeshutter)
Not to worry. Transition Voice’s Snarky Guide to Peak Oil sorts it all out for you. Or double your money back. That’s a promise.
What is peak oil?
The collapse of society? Mutant zombie bikers in the streets? Fox News commentator Neil Cavuto starring in his own prime-time TV reality show?
Peak oil is not the end of the world, but it will be the end of the Oil Age. That doesn’t mean we’re running out of oil, but it does mean the world is running out of cheap oil. And talk about bad timing — world oil has peaked just when countries like China, India and Brazil have started to use lots of oil for the first time, competing with America, Europe and Japan for the second half of world oil.
“How did OUR gas wind up in THEIR tanks?”
More Customers + Less Oil = Higher Prices.
Peak oil is as much about the economy and politics as it is about geology. And it’s not just about pain at the pump, though it couldn’t hurt to trade your pick-up truck for a Prius soon — or better yet, try to work and shop closer to home. Peak oil is also about paying more for all the stuff that oil makes possible, from bread made with wheat grown on factory farms to polo shirts and DVDs imported from China.
Peak oil, combined with climate change, might just mean the end of shopping as we know it, in the words of Australian author Paul Gilding.
Read more: Transition Voice