Energy futuresGovernments begin to consider "peak oil" concept
Oil is a fossil fuel, so by definition it is in limited supply; eventually we will reach a point at which oil production hits its maximum capability — or peak — and then begins to decline; the concept of “peak oil” means that because there are not endless supplies of oil, and because it is a finite resource, then at some point we will reach a tipping point at which it becomes impossible to continue increasing oil production; some even contend that we are already at that point
Some think these will one day be useless // Source: chron.com
One of the arguments advanced in support of a move to alternative energy is that of “peak oil.” The idea behind peak oil is that, as a fossil fuel in limited supply, eventually we will reach a point at which oil production hits its maximum capability — or peak — and then begins to decline. Because there are not endless supplies of oil, and because it is a finite resource, the idea is that we will reach a tipping point at which it becomes impossible to continue increasing oil production. Some even contend that we are already at that point. Critics of the idea of peak oil insist that we are nowhere near any point of oil production decline, and that there is nothing to worry about. Some even call those bring attention to peak oil “alarmists.”
It appears, though, that governments are starting seriously to consider the merits of the peak oil approach. Publicly, officials in Britain’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) downplay worries about Peak Oil, but an adviser to the department has requested information about peak oil, and the Guardian reports that there was a peak oil workshop in the not-to-distant past that involved the DECC, Ministry of Defense, and the Bank of England. Indications are that officials in Britain are considering the possible impacts of peak oil — and thinking about contingency plans should peak oil turn out to be disruptive on an economic and military scale.
The United Kingdom is not the only government considering the matter. In Germany, a military study addresses the possible impacts that peak oil could have. A leaked draft of the report by the Bundeswehr Transformation Center was seen by Spiegel:
[The report] warns of shifts in the global balance of power, of the formation of new relationships based on interdependency, of a decline in importance of the western industrial nations, of the “total collapse of the markets” and of serious political and economic crises.
Officials confirm the existence of the leaked document, but say that it had not been edited, and that it was not meant to be published. Still, the fact that the Bundeswehr has undertaken such a study indicates that the government of the largest economy in Europe is concerned about the implications that peak oil could have on its own welfare, and the world’s.
—Read more in Terry Macalister and Lionel Badal, “Peak oil alarm revealed by secret official talks,” The Observer, 22 August 2010; Stefan Schultz, “‘Peak Oil’ and the German Government: Military Study Warns of a Potentially Drastic Oil Crisis,” Spiegel, 1 September 2010
