SYRIANA TELLS  THE STORY OF $20 GAS

The New York Times says Syriana is "one of the best geopolitical thrillers in a very long time... [The movie] assimilates a whole shelf of post-9/11 nonfiction and journalism, spinning a complex, intriguing narrative about oil, terrorism, money and power." Not surprisingly for a movie with a nonfiction foundation, Syriana has some lessons for viewers - most notably that disruptions of the United States oil supply would be economically and socially disastrous. Syriana not only flaunts $20 gas, but also depicts skyrocketing food prices which would certainly occur in the event of severe supply disruptions; our industrial agriculture system and globalized food distribution system is heavily dependendent on oil and natural gas.

PEAK OIL: THE REALITY BEHIND THE STORY

Syriana shows us the pain at the pump and the supermarket, but the reality behind the story is that  we are headed into a future of supply disruptions and ever rising energy prices. Geology tells us that global extraction of oil will reach a peak or plateau (very soon according to a growing number of experts) and then go into inexorable decline, approximating the downside of a bell curve. This phenomenon is called "Peak Oil". The actual inflection point is referred to as "oil peak", and can be thought of as the point when about half of the original endowment of economically extractable oil on the planet has been burned. After peak, our growing demand for oil and the multitude products for which it is a critical feedstock will necessarily go unsatisfied. Oil scarcity will also increase pressure on supplies and pricing of America’s second most important energy source, North American natural gas, which is already often strained to its limits despite recent mild winters. An increasing number of experts believe global oil peak is imminent - within 5 years and some believe we may have already passed the peak but have not yet realized it. Have you been looking at the news?

• The World's second largest oil field, Burgan in Kuwait, peaked November 2005
• The World's eighth largest oil field, Cantarell in Mexixo, will peak in 2006
• The North Sea which has already peaked is experiencing 6-8% decline rates.
• Articles on peak oil have graced the pages of numerous major press, including USA Today, New York Times, Time Magazine, National Geographic, &  BBC News  
• Googling "peak oil" yields 1.9 Million matches
• There is now a Peak Oil Resolution in the United States House of Representatives brought forth by the bi-partisan Peak Oil Caucus.

According to a U.S. government funded report, PEAKING OF WORLD OIL PRODUCTION: IMPACTS, MITIGATION, & RISK MANAGEMENT - commonly referred to as the Hirsch Report, transitioning away from oil will take 20 years. By many credible accounts, we have less than 5 years. Katrina and Rita exposed our vulnerabilities with respect to preparing for and responding to catastrophes. One thing you can do now is urge your representative to support the bipartisan Peak Oil Resolution in Congress. More importantly, we all need to prepare locally...

Get prepared in your local area

Participate in the PEAK OIL: Reality Behind the Story Campaign