by Graeme » Mon 20 Sep 2010, 20:07:28
Impending Oil Crisis Will Overshadow Global Climate Change
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'L')eading energy consultants Dr. Robert Hirsch and colleagues Dr. Roger Bezdek and Robert Wendling, co-authors of an infamous 2005 report for the U.S. Department of Energy on peak oil, predict an impending decline in world oil production may occur within the next five years and urge government, industry and the general public to address the issue, in their newly published book The Impending World Energy Mess: What It Is and What It Means to You!
Concerned by a lack of action and fearful that the subject of global warming may be distracting people from a more imminent issue, Dr. Hirsch and his colleagues decided to take action and write the book. They argue that oil production reached a plateau in 2004 and has remained relatively consistent ever since. They are concerned that a decline in world oil production is potentially two to five years away and will have significant economic consequences.
"The decline of world oil production will overshadow climate concerns and will become humankind's most urgent priority," forecasts Dr. Hirsch. "This is a liquid fuels problem. There is a large amount of liquid fuel consuming equipment, such as cars, trains, ships and aircraft, which move people and goods around every day. When world oil production irreversibly begins to decline, there will be shortages. Switching the energy we put into almost all machinery will not happen overnight."
In The Impending World Energy Mess; What It is and What It Means to You!, Hirsch and his colleagues discuss the long production cycles involved in oil production, examine what forecasters have been predicting, evaluate current alternative energy options, and review what can be done to mitigate the upcoming challenges. This book will help educate readers about the realities of energy in general (oil in particular) and provides a practical basis for understanding and personal action.
prnewswire
Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.