Out of Gas: The End of the Age of Oil
The rise in gas prices at the pump, the damage to one of Japan’s nuclear power plants, and the U.S. Congress’s inability to come up with anything resembling a national energy policy has me in the emotional dumps. And it made me want to pick up a book I’d read a few years ago: Out of Gas: The End of the Age of Oil by David Goodstein.
I didn’t expect a review of this great little book would make me feel better—I knew it wouldn’t. But it’s a good overview of the plight we find ourselves in, as China’s and India’s need for energy collides with America’s insatiable appetite for a finite resource.
Goodstein says the world is much closer to peak oil than we think. Peak oil is when demand for black gold outstrips the supply. America actually reached Dr. M. King Hubbert’s theoretical peak in the mid-70s when production at home declined:
…in 1956, Hubert predicted that the rate at which oil could be extracted from the lower forty-eight United States would peak around 1970 and decline rapidly after that. When his prediction was borne out, other oil geologists started paying serious attention.”
We solved the problem in the 1970s by importing more oil. By depending so much on imported oil, we have, as Fareed Zakaria wrote in Time magazine, “built our house at the base of a volacano (mideast turmoil).”
That U.S. peak back in the 70s may look like a cake walk compared to global peak oil. It’s impact on the economy, human well-being, and world peace could be devastating.
Goodstein reminds us that it is not just oil, but energy itself, that is finite (the law of conservation of energy). He reviews possible technological innovations that could help us; reminds us that these technological fixes do not yet exist; reminds us of the dangers of climate change that go hand-in-hand with fossil fuels; and explores other problems that come along with other energy sources, from coal to natural gas to nuclear energy.
All of this, of course, is bad news. But it’s good to know it, because we need to know what we’re up against.
Goodstein wrote this back in 2004, when Americans were paying $2 per gallon at the pump and screaming to high heaven. Prices went down and we went back to SUVs. It’s time to pick the book up again.
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Comments
It is pointless to look at the federal or state level governments to legislate much meaningful mitigation measures at this stage of the crisis. All of them depend too much on perpetual economic growth, growth that can’t be sustained without cheap, ever increasing amounts of concentrated energy to burn.
I really appreciate great ideas and thoughtful editorial content. When it comes to this industry so much is compiled of fluff and nonsense and I really appreciate how you guys share the real deal and don’t lead your readers astray from the facts. Thanks for your great work and I’ll continue to be an avid follower for many years to come!
Careful, Young Bill Young. You be in oil country! LOL