Matthew Simmons: The only way is down (economist.com) |
Matthew Simmons: The only way is down (economist.com) |
Personally I believe we are nowhere near peak oil, due to Bakken, the unexplored resources off USA coastal shorelines, ANWR drilling that should be undertaken, etc.
Plus for natural gas we have the undersea hydrates that we haven't quite figured out how to mine cheaply (yet).
And I have done a bit of research into the "undersea natural gas hydrates"......
That is a fascinating phenomenon. Deposits are gargantuan but, man, I wouldn't want to be working the rigs that explore for them.
If you drill into a deposit the natural gas will start bubbling to the surface and when this happens your platform loses flotation and sinks. This has already happened to one or two rigs working the North Sea with loss of all hands.
By comparison, nuclear fission is much, much safer.
The fellow's predictions in the past have missed the big events: don't bother trusting his newest predictions.
That said, it's about time for the world to turn the Black Swan of peak oil into a Grey Swan (to use Mr. Taleb's expression). We really ought to start preparing to soften the blow. The current alarm is also inspiring bright folks to research alternative energy sources and that can only be good for us in the long term.