The Myth of “Peak Oil”
Posted on January 25, 2005
The Myth of “Peak Oil” - Mises Institute
I am often asked about the ‘peak oil’ theory. I’ve even had some people send me junk mail predicting when the date would come. Sometime in June, 2006, I recall. (Unsolicited investment advice: go very long!) I didn’t really pay attention. And yet many do. There are websites, books, email lists, conferences, and tracts of every sort promoting this doomsday theory (here is a google of the subject, and, yes, the domain name peakoil.com is taken). In millennialist language, these people say that the human race is on the verge of a massive turning point because oil is nearly depleted. You can fill in the rest.
UPDATE: Perhaps the title of that article is a little misleading, because if you read the article you will realise that it isn’t saying that the idea of “Peak Oil” is a myth, so much as the oh-my-god-the-end-of-civilisation-as-we-know-it crack-pottery that tends to surround some more sensationalist peak oil resources. Another good articles on peak oil for your enjoyment pleasure is here (thanks to Agent Lulu for the link in the comments below)
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7 Responses to “The Myth of “Peak Oil””
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Through a technorati watchlist for “peak oil”. I’m trying to get a balanced view on what it is all about. Some of the articles out there can be a tad sensationalist, so I’m keeping track of what people are saying about it.
The best article I have read so far is the one I indicated above and in your comments.
Thanks for the link, David. Here are a few more you might be interested in:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ludwig_von_Mises_Institute
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/GA26Dj04.html
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/OilRunningOut.php
http://www.energybulletin.net/4044.html
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10006843
http://fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/012005_end_oil.shtml
Out of curiousity, how did you come across my blog?
Yikes, looks like we posted at the same time. I hope the other links I provided are useful.
I’ll have a look, thanks for that.
I am doing some work on developing scenarios for Ireland’s future based on timing of Peak Oil. I can find plenty of impressive data indicating that Peak Oil is likely to happen within 5-10 years, but little for those supporting a longer term predication. I like to give a balanced view and if you know of any references to something more than “if we throw money at it there will be more oil” type confidence, that would be great.
The website I am working on is http://www.energyscenariosireland.com
Phoebe.
Sorry, but I don’t really have any new links since the original post. This is not really an issue I spend much time worrying about.