[getsmart-l] Peak Oil Production & the energy industry

[Gloria Boxen]

Oil: Peak performer
Is The Oilpatch Ready for a World with less Black Gold toSpare?

   Jeff Sanford
November 5, 2007, Canadian Business

Jeff Rubin, an economist with CIBC World Markets, ... suggests the idea that oil production has peaked is gaining mainstream status in the energy industry. “When it comes to any new idea, Stage 1 is denial, Stage 2 is acceptance, and Stage 3 is ‘We knew it all along.’ We’re moving into Stage 3,” he says.

   Should we be worried? Perhaps. Earlier this year the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report suggesting a worldwide depression is possible if nothing is done about the approaching peak in hydrocarbon production, while the International Energy Agency has warned of “extremely” tight oil markets within five years. The idea we may be on the downside of global hydrocarbon production raises tough questions .... 



There are certain aspects about the modern economy we’ve come to depend on during the past 50 years. One of them is that the economy will always expand, and it will do so at an astonishing rate. But if the deep energy flows that make everything run properly start to plateau or decline, what does that mean for society? Does the constant, continued expansion we’ve come to expect taper off? Or worse, go into reverse? Sobering questions, and the answers some experts in Canada are giving are not encouraging. 

See complete article at

 http://www.canadianbusiness.com/after_hours/opinions/article.jsp?content=20071105_198703_198703 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://list.web.net/archives/getsmart-l/attachments/20071114/da173cd5/attachment.htm