The world is running out of gas, literally
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Via The Independent:
The world is heading for a catastrophic energy crunch that could cripple recovery because most of the major oil fields in the world have passed their peak production, a leading energy economist has warned.
That leading energy economist is Dr. Faith Birol of the International Energy Agency. How dire is the good doctor’s warning?
In an interview with The Independent, Dr. Birol said that the public and many governments appeared to be oblivious to the fact that the oil on which modern civilisation depends is running out far faster than previously predicted and that global production is likely to peak in about 10 years – at least a decade earlier than most governments had estimated.
But the first detailed assessment of more than 800 oil fields in teh world, covering three quarters of global reserves, has found that most of the biggest fields have already peaked, and that the rate of decline in oil production is now running at nearly twice the pace as calculated just two years ago.
One big reason we’re running out of gas? The emerging economies in China and India. China currently uses 7.59 million barrels of oil per day. The International Energy Agency predicts that number will be 9.96 million per day in 2012. India’s increase in oil consumption is not quite as precipitous, but continues to rise at a rate of around 6% annually. Before we go and blame the developing world for the coming gas shortages, it is worth recognizing that the United States consumes around 20 million barrels of oil each and every day.
Though we may never actually pump out every last drop of oil from the global tank, a dwindling supply will most certainly speed up the search for fuel alternatives.
Here’s Randy Park delivering a presentation on peak oil production back in 2007. Enjoy?
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“The world is running out of gas, literally”
Good!
B,
Well, good and bad.
I don’t see much bad coming out of a dwindling supply of oil, necessity is the mother of invention. Rising fuel prices will force both the Chinese and Indians to start taking some serious looks at what they can do to conserve, something neither nation has been all that eager to do.
haha… yeah you think that is good… pick up a little old book called, “Beyond the Limits to Growth” (Meadows, Meadows & Randers).
It argues and endeavors to support the theory (what would seem the obvious) that economic growth cannot continue indefinitely in a finite system (Earth). I know you can hear republicans screeching with that premise.
The world’s human population is soon to hit the threshold of more than just gas my friends!
I was attracted to this blog mostly because of its name, “Paradigms Lost.” It seems to fit our present reality. Everything is out of balance, and I was once told that Nature IS balance. We seem to have made a great mess of things, haven’t we. If we are running out of oil, it should be no surprise to anyone. We are running out of everything. See:
http://trueslant.com/hivemind/2009/08/02/the-banality-of-extinction/