We have known for many years now that not only is oil a finite resource, but that production of it will peak sometime in the Ut-Oh (00) Decade, after which supplies will decline while demand is still rising, causing major adverse consequences. But no one ever seems to talk about it. All the politicians, including Senator Obama tonight, speak of energy independence from rogue nations, and expect too much out of other sources of energy. Everything else, including Iraq, the nuclear desires of Iran, Israel, health care, global warming, mountain removal, and the Presidential election campaign seem to be more important, at least in the eyes of the media.
The latest financial crisis is an example of this. All kinds of attention has been applied to the crisis, and people have warned that another Great Depression will result if the Great Bailout Package of 2008 is not passed quickly. That may very well be true, since I see firms, such as Bear Stearns, AIG, Washington Mutual, Lehman Brothers and so forth fail left and right. But we have been through this in the last Great Depression, and we know what the solution is, and it will be applied.
The whole thing is masking the real danger to our future: Peak Oil. What happens when the oil and gasoline run out?
We may find out this weekend. There is an event coming up which will bring attention to the media and the nation as a whole. Hurricanes Gustav and Ike have disrupted oil and gasoline production at a time when gasoline supplies were low and when there is almost no slack in the system. Major shortages have now appeared in the Southeast, including many of the cities that I have visited in recent years to go to conventions: Atlanta, Knoxville, Charlotte, and Nashville. Nashville is said to have only 15% of its gasoline stations open. Still, this is regional, and gasoline will come back.
Enter Football. This is the sport which takes even more public attention than Iraq, global warming, or the election. It seems that global warming and Iraq take priority over Peak Oil, and further, that Football takes priority over these. What happens when the Georgia Bulldogs meet the Crimson Tide of Alabama is far more important than how the financial crisis is resolved and certainly more than Peak Oil.
Well this weekend, Peak Oil may effectively trump Football. There is a gasoline shortage in Athens, Georgia, home of the Bulldogs. What happens when zillions of fans zero in on Athens to watch this Great Game of the Year? It will run the stations out of gasoline and people will not be able to go to work on Monday, that's what. And that is when the nation will find out about Peak Oil. A petroleum executive has recommended cancellation of the game; that in itself would be a significant event, but not one to bring attention to the American public. Besides, Governor Sonny "Chicken" Perdue has called the idea "ridiculous". We will see what ridiculous is when the following events happen.
Hordes of fans from Georgia, Alabama and other states descend upon tiny Athens to watch the game, guzzling gasoline at pumps along the way. The fans run the pumps out of gasoline. Many fans can't finish the trip. When the game is over, everyone tries to go home, but can't because the pumps are all dry. Thousands of cars run out of gasoline on the highways, producing scenes reminiscent of the end of Persian Gulf War I or out of Deep Impact, the movie. The authorities can't get these cars out of the way, because they don't have the gasoline to do it with. In fact, the police can't even do their normal patrols, and so unruly crowds develop and loot and pillage Athens and the surrounding area. When Monday morning comes, thousands of residents can't go to their jobs or do their business; Athens shuts down. A week later, when food trucks can't get through, food shortages develop and a possible famine may occur.
I am not saying these events will necessarily occur. But if even only some of them occur, maybe the newscasters and media harpies will pause on the financial crisis a bit and take a look at what is happening in Athens, Georgia. And maybe then the entire nation will realize what Peak Oil is and what it means about its future.
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