Peak Oil Will Get Us First Anyway

Oil is a non–renewable resource so as we consume it there is less remaining in the earth’s crust. Starting with King Hubbert in the 1950s, geologists have depicted the path of oil discovery and depletion with a bell curve of rising production, a peak, and then declining production. Some people argue that when production hits the peak (peak oil), energy prices will rise and stay high, severely disrupting a global economic system dependent on cheap energy. The high energy prices will either cause a complete breakdown of society (the view of preppers and catastrophists) or a shift to energy efficiency, renewables, and nuclear, which will automatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the peak oil belief is a myth, at least for the next decades. High oil prices also trigger more innovation to find and extract plentiful oil from the earth’s crust, and the quantities dwarf our consumption. People who are worried about peak oil need to understand that the climate threat is already here and a much greater concern. And, serendipitously, reducing greenhouse gas emissions also reduces oil demand, preventing peak oil.