[Zok]

This past Sunday, I was surprised to open the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and find a Peak Oil commentary on the first page of the forum section. While not the front page, this is certainly progress …


Full commentary here:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06225/712921-109.stm


Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Forum: Peak Oil -- get used to it
Sunday, August 13, 2006
BYRON W. KING



“…Peak Oil is based on a large and powerful body of evidence that mankind has reached a "peak" in its ability to extract and recover the relatively light, sweet (i.e., low-sulfur content) rock oil of the planet through the use of traditional industrial methods of recovery. The Peak Oil concept was pioneered by a U.S. geologist named M. King Hubbert (1903-89), who correctly predicted in the 1950s that U.S. domestic oil extraction would "peak" in 1970, which is exactly what occurred.”



“…It's time to say farewell to the oil age.

The future is one of rapid transition to a world economy hamstrung by irreversible decline in available volumes of conventional oil. Oil supplies of the future will be severely constrained, highly volatile and very expensive. You can expect to see chronic shortages on a routine basis.

The ability of nations all over the world to maintain real, inflation-adjusted gross domestic products will be severely constrained by these impending oil shortages. And the increased cost of energy across the board, and certainly for the energy contained within a usable barrel of oil, will drive up the rate of inflation.

I began this essay with a reference to Sen. Everett Dirksen. He was also fond of citing the French writer Victor Hugo, who wrote that "Stronger than all the armies is an idea whose time has come." The time has come for people to accept the idea of Peak Oil. Start planning now.”

[Kingcoal]

Ah Pittsburgh, homebase of the Standard Oil empire - where it all started.

[bart]

The op-ed is by Byron King, a local Pittsburgh peak oil writer (lawyer, investment advisor, former petroleum geologist).

More of his writings

He writes entertainingly about the history of oil. He's also interested in the military aspects.