Peak oil... are we screwed?

Question

1. Many experts say we have till 2025 until peak oil happens, some say 2008, some say it happened in 2005. When do you think it will happen? or do you think it's rubbish?

2. How bad do you think it will be? Will it cause another great depression or will it destroy society?

3. What will you do to prepare?

Yes I know what Peak Oil is. It's a theory that M. King Hubbert came up with in the 1950's. He said that all old fields peak when their extraction rates of the all world's oil fields go into terminal decline and you extract less and less every day. Which leads to an ever decreasing supply. Meanwhile demand keeps rising, so prices go up. It happens to individual oil fields and countries all the time.The united states peaked in the early 70's, that's why we import so much now. When the world peaks, that when it will get bad.

The price of every thing goes up. The price of plastic (derivative of petrolium) products goes up. The cost of food goes goes up because pesticides (derivative of oil) will cost more and it will cost more to deliver food. It will f*#k up the economy pretty bad and may destroy it.

Answer 1

do you know what peak oil even is?

well experts predicted we would be out years ago. I am not saying that the peak oil point wont happen.
With tar sands, oil shale, coil-oil etc... though the oil suppy will last.
If people quit talkin about alternative energies and put them into production on more than just a test scale though I would sure be nice.
There are many renewable energies that are proven and just need to be put into motion.

Answer 2

Like all things being talked about, it doesn't matter if we've already hit or getting closer to the event. When economists start talking about peak oil, speculation will make the crude oil prices to go up, which leads to the increase in gas prices. This is not unlike the tech bubble and housing market bubble. No one predicted the burst. Economists talked more and more about bubble bursting and corrections to the point the everyone else started believing it too.

That being said, the dollar gallons are long gone, soon two dollar gallons will be the next to go. American car makers will face more layoffs. The raises in salary will not be able to catch up with inflation. Purchasing power decreases. It won't help big American businesses to make deals with companies in China and India. Both economies will strengthen, their demand for oil also increases. With their population already at 4 to 6 times larger each than the American population, oil rations will be the next topic for the 2012 presidential election.

Right now, as it stands, there's no preparing for the oil peak event. America is in debt. War is still ongoing with no end. And, we're all just observers of our grim future.

Answer 3

Of course we'll eventually hit a point considered to be "peak oil". There's a finite amount of oil on the planet and an infinite demand. Anybody who pretends to know when that will happen is an idiot.
When it does occur (and it will) our society won't "collapse" but we'll certainly face a major economic disaster. A disaster for people in the lower economic status of our society. But who's going to care? Not the people making the decisions.
What am I going to do? Just what I'm doing now that gas is 2+ dollars per gallon.

Answer 4

I've heard from informed sources it is all rubbish. Raising the price is the motive. Another little tidbit apparently Geologist discovered that there is in fact something like 855Billion more barrels of oil and even more gas. This discovery was BEFORE the invasion...Now of course if we find anything at all suspicious about that, we are crazy conspiracy theorist. Yet it is the administration that are acting like co conspirators.
You know the saying just because your paranoid, doesn't mean that some one is not after you...Mary

Answer 5

I honestly can't tell you when it will happen. I am not an expert on it and like you, I've heard varying predictions. No, I don't think it is rubbish.

It will cause a rapid decline with major price increases IF we do not start RIGHT NOW in preparing for it. We have got to rapidly seek alternatives.

I've been preparing myself for years for any sort of economical decline. I've done this by trying to own everything I have... not owe on it and to not go into debt. That way during any sort of depression, I am ok.

Answer 6

yes you,i think have a point there but the truth is nobody seems to care about it right now as they can't change something overnight.
petrol is a essential commodity and we need to make sure every square inch of it has been tapped. while this is happening we also need to find efficient ways of producing other essentials and also make a steady transition into the fuel cell age.

Answer 7

See the question I asked last about the Fisher-Troph process. We can make oil out of coal. Nazi Germany came up with the technology because those big panzer and tiger tanks sucked alot of gas, and no one wanted to give them oil. They did it in South Africa to get around sanctions. We have more coal then any other country in the planet. So once we get our head out of our ***, we will embrace this technology.

Answer 8

If you are asking if we will be screwed when (not if) we run out to oil the answer is probably. It depends on if we can get out act together and start developing cost effective alternatives and the infrastructure.

Answer 9

1) It's rubbish

2) Only as bad as the traders make it and how much fear they embrace

3) Nothing

Answer 10

Do not worry we are now robbing it from Iraqis. Vote us in Republican.