Peak Oil
Reggie Koch
Professor Metcalf
English 100
11-14-2007
The Beginning of the End of Oil The end of oil can mean an end to a lot of things in an industrialized lifestyle that we live in today. With more than 60% of the world passed their peak, this puts United States at a great risk because the U.S. alone uses more than 25% of the world’s oil. According to Tom Whipple, “Americans have consumed an average of 9.3 million barrels of gasoline a day so far this year, an increase of 0.6 percent from last year” (Whipple). In 1956, a man by the name of Dr. Marion King Hubbert, who worked as a geologist for Shell, came up with “Hubbert’s Peak.” Hubbert’s Peak is Dr. Hubbert’s theory, which he accurately predicted, that U.S. domestic oil production would peak in 1970 (Deffeyes 2). Some people didn’t believe in Dr. Hubbert’s Peak theory. They saw it as just a “theory.” Most people now feel that Dr. Hubbert make a good point and believe that the world is coming to an end of oil. This could be in 5 years from now or 30 years--no one really knows when it’s going to happen. The end of oil is not only going to have and end to transportation, but it will also have an impact on other things such as agriculture, economy, and almost everything else that is used daily in an industrialized country. The big problem isn’t the fact that the world is running out of oil, the big problem is running out of oil without a back-up plan. The solution to this problem is to be less dependants on oil and to come up with alternative sources that can replace oil or help us use less of it. The end of oil is going to bring everything to a complete stop. This will drive all corporations to bankruptcy, which will result in unemployment rates skyrocketing. This will result in the stock markets plummeting and this could lead to a world wide great depression. The lifestyle that we have been so use to is going to take a drastic change. Things like cell phones, televisions, computers, air-conditioners,
Professor Metcalf
English 100
11-14-2007
The Beginning of the End of Oil The end of oil can mean an end to a lot of things in an industrialized lifestyle that we live in today. With more than 60% of the world passed their peak, this puts United States at a great risk because the U.S. alone uses more than 25% of the world’s oil. According to Tom Whipple, “Americans have consumed an average of 9.3 million barrels of gasoline a day so far this year, an increase of 0.6 percent from last year” (Whipple). In 1956, a man by the name of Dr. Marion King Hubbert, who worked as a geologist for Shell, came up with “Hubbert’s Peak.” Hubbert’s Peak is Dr. Hubbert’s theory, which he accurately predicted, that U.S. domestic oil production would peak in 1970 (Deffeyes 2). Some people didn’t believe in Dr. Hubbert’s Peak theory. They saw it as just a “theory.” Most people now feel that Dr. Hubbert make a good point and believe that the world is coming to an end of oil. This could be in 5 years from now or 30 years--no one really knows when it’s going to happen. The end of oil is not only going to have and end to transportation, but it will also have an impact on other things such as agriculture, economy, and almost everything else that is used daily in an industrialized country. The big problem isn’t the fact that the world is running out of oil, the big problem is running out of oil without a back-up plan. The solution to this problem is to be less dependants on oil and to come up with alternative sources that can replace oil or help us use less of it. The end of oil is going to bring everything to a complete stop. This will drive all corporations to bankruptcy, which will result in unemployment rates skyrocketing. This will result in the stock markets plummeting and this could lead to a world wide great depression. The lifestyle that we have been so use to is going to take a drastic change. Things like cell phones, televisions, computers, air-conditioners,
Cited: Deffeyes, Kenneth. Hubbert’s Peak: “The impending World Oil Shortage.” New York. Princeton University Press. 2001 Patch, B. W., Maize, K. P., & Cooper, M. H. (1991, August 23). Oil imports. CQ Researcher, 1, 585-608. Retrieved November 14, 2007, from CQ Researcher Online, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1991082300. Savinar, Matt. Life After The Oil Crash. 12 Nov. 2007. <http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/Index.html> The End of Suburbia: “Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream.” Dir. Gregory Greene. Perf. Barrie Zwicker. James Howard Kunstler, Peter Calthorpe, Michael Klare, Richard Heinberg, Matthew Simmons, Michael C. Ruppert, Julian Darley, Colin Campbell, Kenneth Deffeyes, Ali Samsam Bakhtiari and Steve Andrews. DVD. The Electirc Wallpaper. 2004 Whipple, Tom. “Peak Oil Review.” Energy Bulletin. 12 Nov. 2007. http://www.energybulletin.net/37064.html. Wieczorek, Mark. Mark TAW. 27 Aug. 2007. 12 Nov. 2007. <http://www.marktaw.com/culture_and_media/politics/GlobalOil.html