Mirkarimi Predicts Mad Max Style Future In Peak Oil Hearing

A San Francisco Board of Supervisors committee today took up the subject of dwindling worldwide oil and natural gas supplies, and what San Francisco can do to prepare for a radical shift in its energy procurement and use.

The Government Audit and Oversight Committee heard from the authors of a city-commissioned report on “peak oil,” referring to the time when the total amount of available oil and gas worldwide reaches its halfway point.
At that peak, when production declines and becomes more expensive, oil and gas prices are expected to further increase, with potentially disastrous consequences for local, regional and national economies.

There is no universal consensus on the reality of peak oil or when it is likely to occur. Some have warned it has already occurred.

According to a 128-page report from the San Francisco Peak Oil Task Force, released earlier this year, San Francisco can also expect rising food prices, possible food shortages, greater poverty and declining revenue, particularly in the tourist sector which is dependent on the cost of airplane and automobile travel.

Oil and natural gas represent 84 percent of the energy consumed in San Francisco, the report said.

“Dwindling energy supplies combined with continued growth in population and energy consumption will have catastrophic consequences on our economy, infrastructure and personal lives if we do not begin preparing for these major changes,” Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who initiated the task force, said today.

SF Appeal

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SF Environment