Wikileaks: Saudi Oil Reserves Overstated

ragyaba

This just largely confirms what many people [Kenneth Defeyes, Matthew Simmons, Paul Roberts and others] have been saying for years:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/08/saudi-oil-reserves-overstated-wikileaks

Jeremy Leggett, convenor of the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security, said: "We are asleep at the wheel here: choosing to ignore a threat to the global economy that is quite as bad as the credit crunch, quite possibly worse."

What with climate change, a shaky global economy, and tight water and food resources, at some point in time, you would think that we would give up trying to restore the past and start adapting to a new reality … although I rather suspect that we won't.

So, if we wake up some morning and find ourselves extinct, at least we'll have the pleasure of knowing that we took most of the planet with us ...




学而不思则惘，思而不学则殆


[And, indeed, times are getting tougher … I notice that we have to manually add our own sigs these days … ]

Cinorjer

The fact is, our way of living that we define as "modern civilization" is based on resources that we all know are going to run out some day. Even the agricultural revolution depends on oil at its core. Long before the oil actually runs out, it will become too precious and expensive to support large infrastructures. That is the hard truth. The only question is, will it happen in fifty or a hundred years.

And when it does, we won't go extinct. Millions of people will suffer, of course, as the way we live changes.

Mountains

Meantime, we merrily plod along in our gigantic SUV's, guzzling gas like there's no tomorrow, with our heads firmly plantd in the sand.

La de dah dah dah...

Kundabuffer

I see the scenario from Mad Max 2 coming to life

Cinorjer

That's human nature for you. The only thing more certain than people's ability to justify their own selfish behavior is their ability to blame others for problems they create.

Vincenzi

well, peak oil will prevent the worst global warming scenarios.

shanyin

Yes, the idea of peak oil (probably reality IMHO) is that a just as important or more important question is, when are we not going to be able to afford it? That seems to be the question Mathew Simmons is asking. Oil is ubiquitous in our society, purposes which support our lifestyles and in fact many things that we need.

If you're unfamiliar with the idea of peak oil, maybe look it up. "End of Suburbia" is a good documentar I held a screening in my town of it.

DaltheJigsaw

Bumpin'

Spock

Hmmmmm
the capitalist world is in melt down! Us Buddhists will prosper though as we don't need much