Spreading Awareness, Encouraging Action
Peak Oil Peak oil refers to the point in time where roughly one half of the world's conventionally - recoverable oil has been produced. After this point, thought to be occurring now, it will be increasingly difficult to increase oil production to meet increasing demand. In fact, oil production will begin to decline, meaning that we'll need to find alternative sources of energy soon. Would
an awareness that we're running out of oil be good for the climate?
It would be if it encourages us to begin now to convert to other sources
of energy, before we suffer devastating economic consequences.
Getting off of oil, taken alone, will not solve climate change. Even though oil is a big contributor to the greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere, coal and gas, taken together, are bigger. Their projected growth would overwhelm the reduction of oil- based greenhouse gases. Thus, in the best case, peak oil will spur us toward a needed conversion to clean, alternative forms of renewable energy. In the worst case, oil depletion has the capacity to both worsen emissions and destroy the wealth needed to fight global warming. We must not let that happen! Source: End of Oil Heralds Climate Pain, by David Strahan, BBC News.com, 29 March 2007.
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