Peak Oil

Our society and civilization is dependent on oil. Oil accounts for 37% of the US energy needs and is used in a multitude of products from plastics, pharmaceuticals, to pesticides and fertilizers. In our society of globalization the products and even the food we eat travel thousands of miles across the country and world which all rely on oil as a fuel source for transportation. The two highest spikes in US inflation in the past 50 years was caused by the two oil shortages in the early and late 70's. Oil is big and important business and there is only so much of it. Oil production of a single well will when it is roughly half empty start to decrease in output and start a terminal decline and this has proven true for countries as is well outlined in the US which peaked in 1970 and is now producing roughly half what it did at it's peak. Given this the world will peak also but unlike the US did in 1970 we won't be able to conveniently import new energy. During the two gas shortages in the 70's it was only a small percentage of shortage of gas but it caused quadruple price increases and almost lead to rationing of gas so a small decrease in oil production will have monstrous consequences especially in an economy depended on continuous growth.

So what do we do? Rely on coal? Coal is the dirtiest of all fossil fuels and is conveniently located in the countries most likely to not to share it unlike oil which could cause political strife. Rely on nuclear? Besides the obvious problems with waste and security there is only a limited supply of plutonium and uranium. Rely on renewables? Wind and solar energy accounts for only .6% of the US energy, in comparison the US gets 2% of it's energy from wood that's over double that of wind and solar so to put it bluntly there isn't anywhere enough of it to meet our needs and would need extreme growth to get anywhere near just replacing oil.