Peak Oil

What is peak oil?

The idea of Peak Oil is actually quite simple. Imagine that all our world's oil was gathered together in one big tank. At some point in time, we will have used up half of that oil. Peak Oil attempts to determine when this "mid-point" or “Peak” will be reached, & how rapid the decline in oil production will be after this “Peak” has passed. Many business & government interests speculate that this mid-point (Peak) is decades away, but independent researchers & analysts disagree, claiming Peak Oil will happen much sooner. Little valid disagreement exists over Peak Oil itself, rather arguments center around when Peak Oil will occur.

World discovery of oil peaked in the 1960s, and has declined since then. If the 40 year cycle seen in the US holds true for world oil production, that puts global peak oil production, right about now; after which oil becomes less available, and more expensive.

Today we consume around 4 times as much oil as we discover.


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