Yes, Virginia, the world really is running out of oil

This is an event that y'all need to keep in view:

The Petrocollapse Conference

Petrocollapse: Social Isolation or Solidarity?

"The public is also not fully aware of the extent to which oil pervades our lives not simply as fuel for transportation but also in the form of pesticides, fertilizers and plastics. A decline in oil supplies will affect our ability to grow enough food for the current global population of six and a half billion people. Malnutrition and resulting illness can be expected to spread far beyond the 3.7 billion who are currently affected into the developed world.

Our economy also depends on indefinite growth that will not be sustainable once Peak Oil hits. Its arrival is likely to have a paralyzing affect on certain sectors of the economy which will in turn spread both nationally and globally.

At The Petrocollapse Conference we will ask

• What are we facing now as the economy prepares to hit the wall known as resource limits? Will growth suddenly implode?
• What will be the effects of Peak Oil (a geological phenomenon) and petrocollapse (an economic and social phenomenon) on food supply and other services we depend on?
• What humane, ethical means are available to reduce the population (over the course of several generations) to a sustainable number?
• What other mitigation strategies are possible?
• What is the role of the market in determining how severe will be the effect of shortage stemming from geological depletion?
• Upon upheaval, deprivation, and a restructuring of social relations in a "new" local economics system, will we choose to create a sustainable culture?
• Is there a "Plan B" to ease a transition to sustainable living in a world without plentiful energy and petroleum's materials?"

Time really is short. I don't know if Hurricane Rita will spell the difference or not. But it is abundantly clear that Peak Oil is a fact of life and will radically change America as well as the rest of the world. It will come, wether in one year or ten, but it will be here.

Our modern age has blinded us to the fact that the only difference between the 1800's the 1900's and today is cheap and abundant oil. This is the only significant change. Cheap and Abundant oil has produced everything else, from the Chile-grown Grape's on your table, to the SUV in your driveway. Cheap oil has produced it all.

What will you do when this is gone, or too expensive?

Additional reports from the International Energy Agency

Non-OPEC Oil Production Will Decline "Right after 2010," the IEA Warns
By Jean-Michel Bezat with Matthieu Auzanneau
Le Monde

Monday 19 September 2005

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is not alarmist, but it is beginning to prepare public opinion for disillusioning tomorrows: shortly after 2010, production by states not members of the Organization of Petroleum exporting Countries (OPEC) must begin to decline. This pessimistic warning will be one of the messages that the agency - charged since 1974 with protecting the interests of consuming countries - will launch in its annual report, "World Energy Outlook 2005," to be published November 7.

The "non-OPEC" countries notably include large producers such as Russia, China, the United States, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Norway and today supply 60% of global crude oil. "The production of conventional oil - not including heavy and shale oils - will reach a peak just after 2010," explains Fatih Birol, Director of IEA Economic Studies. "The production profile after that date will depend on technology, prices, and investments."

This acknowledged expert adds that "if there are adequate investments and if prices remain at a proper level, production may stabilize itself for a while," before declining. On the other hand, "low prices and inadequate investments in exploration and production will lead to a more pronounced decline," he warns. The essential growth in the volume of extraction will therefore come from OPEC countries, he concludes. Notably from the Middle East and Africa, two regions particularly well-studied in the next "World Energy Outlook.".."