Key terms in oil-supply debate

Peak oil
* Definition: The maximum volume of oil production achievable, after which output begins an irreversible decline. Sometimes called Hubbert’s peak or the Hubbert curve for U.S. geophysicist Marion King Hubbert, who in 1956 theorized that oil production follows a bell-like curve and accurately predicted that U.S. oil production would top out between the late 1960s and early 1970s. Many subsequent peak oil predictions have missed the mark.

* Notable believers: Kenneth S. Deffeyes, author, former Shell geologist and retired Princeton professor; Colin J. Campbell, retired British geologist, author and founder of the Assn. for the Study of Peak Oil; T. Boone Pickens, oilman, hedge fund owner and alternative energy investor; Matthew Simmons, author and chairman of oil investment bank Simmons & Co. International.

Los Angeles Times