WHAT IS PEAK ENERGY?

The phrase ‘peak energy’, is used in reference to our dependence on dwindling energy supplies, primarily oil and natural gas. References to peak energy usually also include a discussion of how to respond to an energy constrained future as a result of this dwindling supply.

The term ‘peak’ refers to the instance when the extraction rate of a resource reaches its highest level, and thereafter begins into inexorable decline. The term is most commonly used in the context of oil, using the phrases ‘peak oil’ or ‘oil peak’. The concept of ‘peak oil’ was first used by research geologist M. King Hubbert, in 1949, and more definitively in 1956.

Many experts now believe that global oil extraction is reaching its limits and may peak within this decade*. Most believe that natural gas extraction in North America has already reached its peak, and global extraction was predicted for 2019 in the Oil & Gas Journal.

Those who have studied the oil peak believe that no combination of existing and emerging technologies will provide industrial nations with the energy necessary for the maintenance of present consumption rates and exorbitant living standards. Furthermore, coal and nuclear, the two sources of energy that are most often proposed as replacements for oil and natural gas, both have huge drawbacks such as producing radioactive waste and causing climate change.

The coming supply shortage will be exacerbated by the rapidly increasing demand of China and to a lesser extent India and the United States. The imminent peaking of global oil production could be the catalyst for positive transformation of industrial society. It could also be a recipe for disaster.

*(Deffeyes, 2005; Campbell, 2007; Heinberg, 2007; Skrebowski, 2008)

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE?

Try these links:
Energy Bulletin Primer
Twilight of the Oil Age
The Basics Peak Oil for Beginners
Life after the oil crash
Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas

For long format audio and video interviews (and transcripts) with experts, visit our internet broadcasting site Global Public Media http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/topics/oil.

If you want to discuss the subject, there are active discussion forums at Peakoil.com

There are also several yahoo groups for peak oil, including;

• Energy Resources
•  Running on Empty 2
• Alas Babylon
• Energy Roundtable