Oil's time draws to a close

Oil is amazing.

Those of you who know me, a climate change and Peak Oil activist, probably are surprised to hear me say that. But it is.

Think about it. Here are some of the things we get from oil: plastics, fertilizers, a range of waxes (including p araffin), pesticides, herbicides , detergents, cleaners, a range of adhesives and sealants, asphalt and tar, not to mention all of the lubricants and fuels, such as diesel, kerosene and gasoline.

It is a very dense form of energy in a liquid, which makes it easy to transport and use. As a fuel, it is hard to beat or even replace. Harnessing the benefits of oil has transformed our technology and society.

Combined with other fossil fuels, oil has brought us the automobile, air travel, electricity, running water, advanced medicine and virtually everything else that goes into modern life.

We’ve had a good ride with oil. And it is cheap because all we have to do is pump it out of the ground and get it to where we want to use it. Amazing.

But we are running out of oil. Of course, there is disagreement about when it will run out, but few people doubt that at some point, the availability of oil will decline.

The Olympian