What will happen when resources peak?

Oil is going to reach peak production pretty soon, and once it does, then production will start to fall and it will have a catastrophic effect on all economies.
It could happen as soon as 2011, from someone's pessimistic estimate.
The effects will turn economies upside down. We are so dependent on oil that it will be like a chokehold. By the time we get our things in gear and make a complete changeover to alternative resources, we'll barely have enough production power to make that switchover.
What are we going to do?

Reply 1

e-lover

Well this where the 'green economy' comes in. Industrialized nations are slowly moving away from fossil fuels and into nuclear and other 'cleaner' energies.

Either that, or one big **** off World War to decide who uses what.

Reply 2

HappinessHappening

Rich countries will bo OK; they'll make the transition to green energy if they have to.

Industrialising nations will be ******.

I think we rich people will be fine and dandy, so who really cares? :smile:

*jokes

Reply 3

ashy

Either the economies now dependent on imported energy will come crashing down, or they'll adapt in time with alternatives. Or they'll use all of their wealth importing yet more of even less economically feasible energy supplies.

Reply 4

Bateman

Peak oil my ass. But if it happens Iran alone has enough Gas for the whole world to use for 300 years.

Reply 5

Invictus_88

e-lover

[...]
Either that, or one big **** off World War to decide who uses what.

Bateman

Peak oil my ass. But if it happens Iran alone has enough Gas for the whole world to use for 300 years.

Bateman just answered your question, E-lover.

War it is.

Reply 6

UGeNe

Russia wins.

Let the resource hogging begin.

Reply 7

initiation

I have been fairly big on peak oil for 4-5 years now. This world is going to (well has already started to) face a truly huge problem in the form of resource depletion that has no simple solution.

Bateman

Peak oil my ass. But if it happens Iran alone has enough Gas for the whole world to use for 300 years.

Wrong. Even if you use the overly simplistic model of reserves/production ratio then:
(Data from the CIA world factbook)

Iranian proven reserves: 26,850,000,000,000 m3
World annual consumption: 3,198,000,000,000 m3

That is a little over 8 years ignoring the inevitable growth in demand.

There is no denying that oil production for a given oil field, region or country does peak and then fall (not always in the classic bell shape curve). In fact most major producing countries have passed peak and are already in decline. Look at the table in the link below which just shows the limited number of nations with the capability to increase production.
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/5576

Of course the question is not 'if' but when the date of the global peak will be, the rate of decline and how society will respond to such an event.

Reply 8

joey11223

simple, WE GO NUCLEAR! Lets get fusion cracked guys! And by cracked I mean we get more energy out then we have to put in). The Sun can do it, is The sun better then us! I THINK NOT, I spit on the sun! :p:

if your reading this Sun I'm joking, don't focus a beam and burn me or turn yourself off just to get pay back, I do seriously love you. :p:

Reply 9

Invictus_88

initiation

I have been fairly big on peak oil for 4-5 years now. This world is going to (well has already started to) face a truly huge problem in the form of resource depletion that has no simple solution.

Wrong. Even if you use the overly simplistic model of reserves/production ratio then:
(Data from the CIA world factbook)

Iranian proven reserves: 26,850,000,000,000 m3
World annual consumption: 3,198,000,000,000 m3

That is a little over 8 years ignoring the inevitable growth in demand.

There is no denying that oil production for a given oil field, region or country does peak and then fall (not always in the classic bell shape curve). In fact most major producing countries have passed peak and are already in decline. Look at the table in the link below which just shows the limited number of nations with the capability to increase production.
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/5576

Of course the question is not 'if' but when the date of the global peak will be, the rate of decline and how society will respond to such an event.

Perhaps joining the army is not such a good idea.

On the basis of those figures, it looks like I'll be serving in Iran.

:s-smilie:

Reply 10

Bateman

initiation

That is the known gas reserves, it is nothing like the estimated gas resources. Iran is under current embargos meaning that it cannot develope or look for any fields. We will see in years to come how much Gas Iran really has. The gas that it has today is in the persian gulf. Most of the worlds Gas is situated around the caspian sea, yet Iran doesn't have a single gas exploitation site there because there isn't enough investment there.

But still, looking at those figures, even if Iran's reserves are 10 times higher than the current one, my original statement wouldn't be true. I think what i read was something along the lines of "Iran's gas reserves alone are enough to fuel cars/heat houses/ generate electricity for the whole world for 300 years.

I will look for it and get back to you.

Reply 11

Bateman

I think that oil and gas are made from the earths mantle and that the areas that have oil now will have them forever.

Even if the above statement isn't true, i think that world powers do not want oil rich countries to develope an industry which would increase their demand for oil, which would decrease their exports and therefore increase oil prices and make their goods expensive and uncompetative whereas the countries with oil would be able to subsidise the oil and have very competative industries.

Reply 12

LoveYourSlavery

There's no shortage of oil, just that for other reasons it's more profitable for the oil to stay in the ground, especially when the myth of scarcity is so widespread. According to Rand corp there's 800bn barrels of oil under the Rocky Mountains and an absolute crapload under Gull Island to mention two.

I didn't think peak oilers said that production would peak anyway? I thought they maintained that demand would outstrip supply due to overground issues as opposed to underground ones?