How Will Peak Oil Change The World?

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How Will Peak Oil Change The World?

Peak oil is one of the world’s largest problems but it is one that many do not even know about. Oil is used by nearly everyone just about everywhere in the world. So what if the supply of oil began to diminish? That’s exactly what peak oil is. When an oil well is created, those that are extracting the oil will begin to extract more and more until the amount of oil produced peaks. Once the oil well peaks, those that are extracting the oil will begin to slowly obtain less and less oil over the years. Running out of oil in the world is not the main problem because “the existing reservoirs may not be capable of producing on a daily basis the increasing volumes of oil that the world requires because it would just cost too much money” (Rodrigue, Dr. Jean-Paul, and Dr. Claude Comtois). Extracting cheap oil is what the real problem is. Peak oil “refers to the future decline in world production of crude oil and to the accompanying potentially calamitous effects” (Holland). These effects have huge consequences that, if not solved soon, will change the way human’s live by modifying everyday things such as transportation and food. The world is addicted to oil and the dependence of the human race is going to make this a very tough change to make.

The idea of peak oil was first thought up by M. King Hubbert with his model, which is now called Hubbert’s Peak. M. King Hubbert was a “well known U.S. geologist” that “was working for Shell Oil” (Peak Oil Primer). Hubbert’s Peak shows how the production of oil increases, peaks, and then begins to decline. When Hubbert first proposed this idea, it was not taken seriously because many people thought that there was not an end to the supply of oil. This was back ...

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..." Information for the World's Business Leaders - Forbes.com. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. .

Rath, B.. "Harvesting Alternate Energies from Our Planet. " JOM 61.4 (2009): 73-78. ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry, ProQuest. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.

Rodrigue, Dr. Jean-Paul, and Dr. Claude Comtois. "Transportation and Energy." Hofstra People. Web. 08 Nov. 2011. .

Transportation For America. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. .

"Uranium Science." Cameco. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. .

"World Annual Oil Production (1900-2009) and Peak Oil (2010)." Hofstra People. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

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