Your Primer on the Great ”Peak Oil” v ”Speculators” Debate

On one side is the “Peak Oil” crowd, who believe that the world has now reached its maximum daily oil output and that increasing demand–which is already outpacing supply–will now drive oil prices into the stratosphere.

On the other side is the “Evil Speculator” crowd, which argues that big energy traders are “gaming” the energy markets and adding at least a $30-$40 speculation premium to each barrel.