Fuel Problems Today

Have We Reached Hubbert's Peak?

More and more the topics of oil shortages and addictions are becoming a hot button issue. Everyone has noticed the rise of gas prices in the past year. The reason for this increase is the fact that the world has reached Hubbert's Peak. No, it' not mountain, it's a time span. In 1956 M. King Hubbert created a theory that say at a certain point oil production will reach a peak and then slowly start to decline regardless of the demand.

Hubbert said that by 1970 the world would reach this peak, but because of unconventional means of obtaining oil such as tar sands this peak has not yet been seen. Even though Hubbert didn't get the year right his theory has still proven correct. We have already reached the peak and are beginning to feel the effects of its decline. For every 10 barrels of oil used only four barrels are discovered. New oil fields are still being discovered but none that are big enough to substantially change the amount of oil produced. In the past 30 years no significant liquid oil fields have been discovered.

With this decline in oil production comes many troubles, everyone knows that oil is used for transportation, heating, and cooling but what they don't know is that it is used for pesticides too. Without oil crop production around the world would seriously decline and cause world wide famine. With lack of oil many things would disappear and resource wars would break out across the world. While becoming more fuel efficient and saving gas does help, it only prolongs the inevitable. People need to be inventing new ways for us to live. Our most ideal alternative would be electric power it's cheap, clean and effective. Hydrogen power is another alternative but to make the hydrogen needed the US would have to increase its power out put three fold. Making synthetic fuel from coal is yet another option but it is dirty and expensive.