Much of recent political debate and call for alternative fuels is centered on global warming.
We all fear the carbon produced by cars and factories will melt the ice caps and flood most of the Earth’s surface. Regardless of the public support for climate change, there is still political and scientific debate around the legitimacy of global warming.
One theory that cannot be denied validity is peak oil. Peak oil refers to the point of time when the world’s oil production reaches its maximum rate of extraction — the “peak” of production. This also means that after this point we would never be able to extract that many barrels of oil per day again. There are many countries in the world that have already hit peak, and the U.S. is one of them. Once the oil is gone we have no way of getting more of it.
Many argue that we need to look more closely at offshore drilling and tar sands as sources of new oil. We can extract oil from these sources, but the process of getting the oil is much more energy expensive (the rate of return on energy is smaller) than regular drilling. For instance, regular oil drilling has an energy return rate of about 20-to-1, meaning one barrel of oil is burned to get 20 more. With tar sands, the rate of return is around 5-to-1.
Tar sands need to be heavily processed in order to be turned into oil that can be put into an engine. This process uses not only considerably more energy than regular land-drilling processes, but thousands of gallons of clean water as well.
There are similar problems with offshore drilling. We all remember the Deepwater Horizon accident that spilled countless gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore drilling also has significantly smaller returns than regular drilling.
As more countries hit peak, oil will continue to become more expensive. In turn, food will become more expensive and scarce as not only is there a great deal of transportation costs associated with farming, but the fertilizers are also made with petroleum. If petroleum becomes more expensive, so does farming. Without petro fertilizers we can’t produce as much food, which also means we can’t support a growing population.
If oil becomes more expensive, so will everything else. It is almost impossible to find any good that has not been produced or transported with petroleum. If oil was extremely scarce, then goods would become unaffordable.
So when will this doomsday scenario pan out? There is no way of knowing. Estimates on world oil supply are based largely on speculation so no one really knows how much oil we have left. But the well will eventually run dry.
However, we can do something about this situation in the meantime. Simple changes on the individual level will help delay global peak. Using Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs — the spiral light bulbs — will help cut energy use. Buying local, especially local foods that haven’t been produced with petrochemicals is also good. If a person has a yard or garden, planting food-producing plants instead of flowers helps, especially if the seeds from those plants can be used to re-grow the following year. Alternating crops will keep the soil fertile without fertilizers.
Most importantly, we need to focus the spotlight away from climate change. Finding alternative energy sources will not only sustain the environment, but the economy as well.