PEAK OIL by Kevin Drum

PEAK OIL WRAPUP....For future reference, here's a collection of links to the entire set of recent peak oil posts:

• Part 1: Oil production in the non-OPEC world is likely to peak within a few years and then begin an irreversible decline.

• Part 2: Oil peaking is caused by unavoidable geologic factors. It happens to all oil fields and can't be stopped just by spending more money.

• Part 3: There isn't much oil left elsewhere in the world to make up for the upcoming decline in non-OPEC supplies. A global peak, followed by a steady decline in production, is likely within the next ten years.

• Part 4: As bad as this is, there's something even worse that's happened already: the world has run out of spare pumping capacity. The result is likely to be steadily rising prices and frequent oil shocks, leading to increasing global instability and a turbulent economy held permanent hostage to terrorists, unstable dictatorships, resource wars, and natural disasters.

• Part 5: There are things we can do to manage the approaching oil peak, but we need start now and we need to address both supply and consumption.

• Coda: A final word on why peak oil is serious, but not the end of civilization.
  

—Kevin Drum 12:31 AM Permalink | TrackBack (8) | Comments (88)

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