In the last decade, oil experts, geologists, and policy makers alike have warned that a peak in oil production around the world was about to be reached and that global economic distress would result when this occurred. But it didn't happen.
The peak didn't happen, but did we not see global economic distress and the highest prices ever (adjusted for inflation)? Perhaps not.
The "Peak Oil" Scare and the Coming Oil Flood refutes the recent claims that world oil production is nearing a peak and threatening economic disaster by analyzing the methods used by the theory's proponents. Author Michael C. Lynch, former researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), debunks the "Peak Oil" crisis prediction and describes how the next few years will instead see large amounts of new supply that will bring oil prices down and boost the global economy.
It will be very interesting to see what large amounts of new supply he sees.
Editorial Reviews
Review
• Presents a cogent analysis that debunks the myths and exposes the agendas of those who promulgate the scarcity theory
• Supplies applied economic analysis—backed by well-informed research and proven analytical methodologies—by a scholar and researcher with real-world experience
• Explains how the extraction of crude oil from shale formations through hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," should result in abundant long-term supplies with much greater geographical diversity, less political risk, and increased price stability
• Provides valuable insights into investing in the energy sector
Book Description
Oil, though finite, is in much better supply than many renewable resources.
On right-wing message boards (which includes the Wall Street Journal) you will see Peak Oil labeled as an agenda of the political left. It is partially tied in with environmentalism, but partly other liberal political ideology that I can't summarize. It will be interesting to see what agenda he sees by Colin Campbell, Jean Leherrere, etc.