The Myth of "Peak Oil"

January 12, 2005 7:19 AM by Charles Featherstone

I am often asked about the "peak oil" theory. I've even had some people send me junk mail predicting when the date would come. Sometime in June, 2006, I recall. (Unsolicited investment advice: go very long!) I didn't really pay attention. And yet many do. There are websites, books, email lists, conferences, and tracts of every sort promoting this doomsday theory (here is a google of the subject, and, yes, the domain name peakoil.com is taken). In millennialist language, these people say that the human race is on the verge of a massive turning point because oil is nearly depleted. You can fill in the rest.

A contrary view: civilization as we know it will grind to a halt without the energy we derive today from crude oil, and that's in and of itself is motivation enough to make sure that future energy is widely available at prices people can afford. [Full Article]