Seattle Peak Oilers: World To End Soon

Claim

“Members of Seattle Peak Oil Awareness expect world production of oil and gasoline to peak soon, if it hasn’t already, and hard times to follow. ... ‘You can look at it like a black box,’ said Willson, a foosball-table seller who has taken up gardening. ‘The oil goes in and creates people. When the oil gets cut off, the people go away.’

” Andrew Garber, The Seattle Times, “Seattle ‘peak-oilers’ prepare for a world without petroleum,” January 2, 2007

Facts

Predictions of chaos due to resource depletion are not new and they are repeatedly the foundationof environmental calls for new restrictions, new government agencies and new spending on programs to avoid the predicted catastrophe.

Peak oil advocates argue that we are at or rapidly approaching the beginning of a long decline in oil production, having reached the “peak” of oil resources. Combined with the increase in oil use, some in the peak oil community are predicting dramatic consequences.

These predictions, however, don’t match the facts. Known world oil reserves are increasing, and if oil becomes more scarce, and price increases, consumers and businesses will move to other types of energy.