There’s been a lot of talk recently about whether we have hit peak oil production (this BoingBoing entry links to a lot of good articles). But I’ve come to the conclusion that many people are missing the point. Peak oil production is only half the equation. Demand for oil is the other half. Things start to get rough if oil production peaks, but it also gets bad when demand increases significantly compared to production. Taking demand into the equation, things are looking grim for the US, as several large countries–primarily China and India–have developed to the point that their demand for oil has increased significantly, competing with the US for a finite production.
Categories: Politics