What Is Peak Oil?

I’m sure you’ve all heard the term, but do you know what it is?  I feel like this should be one of those “Jay Walker” questions on Leno.   Simply put, peak oil is the moment in time where the global oil production rate has reached its peak.  Think of it as a big sine curve and we’re nearing the apex.  Some say we’re at the tipping point now, others say 2010. 

Recently, Jeroen van der Veer, CEO of Shell Oil, sent an email to all Shell employees.  The email (most of which is available from the Shell Oil website) contains details of how Shell sees the future of energy.  It’s a pretty interesting email coming from a major oil company. Van der Veer writes:  Regardless of which route we choose, the world’s current predicament limits our maneuvering room. We are experiencing a step-change in the growth rate of energy demand due to population growth and economic development, and Shell estimates that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand.

I don’t feel the answer is to keep drilling and seeking out new sources of oil (or dinosaur juice - or really, really old compost).  ANWAR (Alaska National Wildlife Refuge) on the northern tip of Alaska isn’t the answer.  Sure, there is oil under that protected land, but its thick,  nasty crude.  Much of the oil in North America is referred to as “tar sands oil.”   There is so much wind and solar to harness and so many other alternatives to oil out there.  We need to change our focus.   If you think about it - we’ve killed this planet in the last 125 years with greenhouse gasses.  If  you think about it, that isn’t very long.  Sure - our grandparents and great grandparents had no idea about the greenhouse effect or the ozone or global warming.  We know.  It’s finally being accepted.  So lets do something about it instead of perpetuating the problem. 

Elizabeth May, executive director of The Sierra Club of Canada writes, “Tar sands oil is to conventional oil what crack cocaine is to ordinary cocaine powder. More harm to global climate through increased greenhouse gas emissions, more destruction of boreal forests, more toxic tailings and more air and water pollution. Like other addicts, North American governments and industry cannot seem to stop themselves from throwing away billions of dollars on their addiction—money that would be much better spent on energy efficiency and wind and solar power.”

If you were wondering where all the oil in the world comes from, checkout the map.