Oil crisis constant concern

“The oil crisis will be here in three years. I don’t know many people who think we have ten years, anymore,” said Seppo Korpela, an Ohio State professor of mechanical engineering who has been trying for five years to raise public awareness about peak oil theory.

Korpela said the theory holds that when the world’s production of oil peaks, it will then decline, causing serious economic and social disruption unless viable substitutes for oil are found.


“As these things develop, society is going to be forced to make adjustments,” said Korpela, who has published articles about the issue. He has also spoken on campus to students and off-campus to organizations such as the Ohio Petroleum Marketers Association.

“If we have good public discourse, the country can move in the right direction,” he said. Korpela said there is a long way to go, however, to achieve a level of public concern that matches the seriousness of the issue.

The Lantern (Ohio St. University)