Peak Oil is here: is Lexington ready?

In August, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has issued an astounding report:

“In its first-ever assessment of the world’s major oil fields, the IEA concluded that the global energy system was at a crossroads and that consumption of oil was ‘patently unsustainable’, with expected demand far outstripping supply.

 Oil production has already peaked in non-Opec countries and the era of cheap oil has come to an end, it warned.

 In most fields, oil production has now peaked, which means that other sources of supply have to be found to meet existing demand. It also found that the rate of decline in oil production is now running at nearly twice the pace that it calculated just two years ago. The IEA estimates that the decline in oil production in existing fields is now running at 6.7 per cent a year compared to the 3.7 per cent decline it estimated in 2007, a figure it now acknowledges to be wrong

 Even if demand remained steady, the world would have to find the equivalent of four Saudi Arabias to maintain production, and six Saudi Arabias if it is to keep up with the expected increase in demand between now and 2030, Dr Fatih Birol, the chief economist at the respected IEA, said.

 ‘It’s a big challenge in terms of the geology, in terms of the investment and in terms of the geopolitics. So this is a big risk and it’s mainly because of the rates of the declining oil fields,’ he said.

 ‘Many governments now are more and more aware that at least the day of cheap and easy oil is over… [however] I’m not very optimistic about governments being aware of the difficulties we may face in the oil supply,’ he said.”

 This is as clear as it can be:  our oil-dependent lifestyle is about to be rocked!  This will effect everything:  the economy, our money, our homes, how we recreate, what our kids do, what we eat, what we wear – everything.

 The IEA estimates that oil supply is declining at 6.7% a year.  In just 10 years, at this rate, we will have 50% of the oil supply we have today.  And this isn’t just for the U.S., this is for the entire world.  We are on the verge of resource scarcity.

 Are our communities making plans for this reality?  Do we have the necessary resilliency to handle this?

read more:   http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/warning-oil-supplies-are-running-out-fast-1766585.html

[Via http://steveaustinlex.wordpress.com]