Are You Ready for Peak Oil Prices?

Marion King Hubert presented a paper on oil production to the American Petroleum Institute in 1956 that has continued to spark debate.

Hubert's theory proposes that oil production has followed a bell shaped curve and is based on discovery and production. He correctly projected peak oil rates in the United States, having peaked in 1970.

He predicted the worldwide peak in 1995 but during the energy crisis of the 1970's and 1980's oil consumption actually dropped. Other projections estimate the peak as happening in December 2005 with still more estimates at the end of this decade.

Controversy surrounds the Peak Oil dilemma but the critics do not question whether it will happen, the question remains when it will take place.

What Does This Mean for the Average Citizen?

In the 1970's a drop of 5% in production increased the price of oil substantially. If you are old enough to remember the difficulties of that decade, I'm sure your lifestyle was affected to some extent. Perhaps you didn't equate the hardships to the energy crisis.

When we hit worldwide peak oil production, prices of oil will increase at a rate not experienced by our society. Think for a minute of industry that is dependent on oil production. Our agricultural industry and the transportation that brings it to us is dependent on oil. Petrochemicals are used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. Even our water supply needs oil reserves to pump from aquifers and manufacturers use oil as a raw material for production. These examples are only a needle in a proverbial haystack.

What Can We Do?

Two trains of thought exist on this debate. You have the survivalists on one side predicting total social collapse and the optimists on the other patting us on the back and telling us everything is going to be all right. The real truth possibly lies somewhere in the middle.

So what do we do?

First, I would encourage you to educate yourself on the issue. Read the information at the Peak Oil Wiki provided in the links attached to this article. Although I'm no expert in the subject, it appears to be well written and objective.