Coming Down the Mountain: the Fall of Peak Oil

In Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack's film, A Crude Awakening: the Oil Crash, the producer and director team presents the harsh reality of the looming peak oil crisis. The film explores the economic fallout and political conflict that may result from this ominous event. Through extensive research and interviews with some of the world's leading energy analysts, a dark vision of the future takes shape. Suggesting a different path, the film alludes to a humbler and more sustainable way of life. “The world has exceeded sustainable, peak supply” of oil according to Matt Simmons, an energy advisor to the Bush administration (1). An argument exists that modern technology and ingenuity offer hope in finding new oil fields. However, the high-tech equipment used today projects miniscule changes in the earth's crusts and thermal sensors allow humans to peer deep below the surface of the planet. Such cutting-edge technology failed to produce any significant sources of oil in almost 40 years, when the North Sea produced the last “great discovery” in 1969 (1). Oil geologist Colin Cambell, who consults to Exxon, Fina, Mobil, and Shell, says, “to imagine that there is anywhere missed as big as the North Sea, is just implausible” (1). He goes on to say that at least 58 countries world-wide now produce less oil than in the past and that the “world has now been sufficiently explored” for the oil industry to know “that all of the promising areas have been identified” (1). When U.S. oil production peaked in 1970, the ensuing energy crisis shattered the economy. To imagine a similar event on a global level brings shivers to the spine, contemplating even the best-case scenario. Oil fuels the global economy much like it fuels our cars. Without it, America and the rest of the world face impossible challenges and many unforeseen obstacles. Our only hope relies on immediate action and a focus on a real, renewable resource, our creativity. Perhaps an alternative energy source can replace our depleting reserves of oil. Hydrogen receives a lot of attention as the future of energy, but the infrastructure required for such a shift is years away, perhaps to late. Biomass and its related fuels present another option, yet these energy sources often demand more petroleum input than the net energy they produce. The possibility of nuclear power alarms many due to its safety risks. Additionally, it would take upwards of “10,000 of the largest, possible plants” to power the world (1). The intermittent nature of wind power precludes this technology from making a big difference in the global energy picture. Our best option, aside from drastic changes in every aspect of our lives, comes from the sun. Each day on earth offers 20,000 times as much energy from sunlight than we currently use in fossil fuels (1). The challenge of solar power lies in the costs of producing the panels, but its improving technology and rising demand lowers these costs everyday. The dilemma of peak oil requires an open mind in addition to extensive volumes of research and development for alternative energy. The subject of peak oil also arouses an interesting question: “What can the earth support without the energy we depend on from petroleum?”. The answer is as debatable as the alternatives mentioned to replace the huge amount of cheap energy oil offers today. What we really need to ask ourselves is, “Do we want to find out?”. Bibliography 1. A Crude Awakening: the Oil Crash. Prod./ Dir. Basil Gelpke, Ray McCormack. DVD. Lava Productions. 2006.