Energy

Ready, or not, the era of inexpensive energy is rapidly coming to a close.

First, read a quick primer on the topic from the How Stuff Work folks. Read the Have we reached peak oil? article for a quick, simple briefing.

	An Australian View www.peakoil.org.au	This site is written with a focus on the Australian issues and has lots of great graphs. I am a very visual person. Graphs help me sort out large sets of complex data.
	Energy Density Comparisons	This is a wonderful table. It demonstrates why it is not easy to substitute other fuels in place of oil. Gasoline has the highest concentration of energy by volume.
	From Peak Oil to Dark Age, BusinessWeek	Sometimes I'm really surprised to see such information in the mainstream media. Would make more sense to be surprised that more info is not available there!
	Minimum Operating Levels	In the short term, gasoline disruptions could easily materialize. This article describes one metric of availibility. The US "stockpile" will only last for a couple days in the face of a supply disruption.
	A Nosedive Towards the Desert	This is a great article and analysis of Saudi oil production. Very easy reading. Not a terribly in-depth technical article. Good explanation of the analysis. Why pay so much attention to the Saudi production? They are the largest oil producer on this planet. They have the ability to greatly affect world markets. Also, the political stability, or instability, has a great influence on oil supply reliability.
	The Olduvai Theory	Examines the duration of the industrial civilization. Turns out it is "horridly short", and completely reliant on cheap energy.
	Predicting the Peak	Exhaustive analysis of 42 different national oil production trends. That is combined into a 7 region analysis, and finally, summarized at the global level. 2007 is the latest prediction.
	Post-Soviet Lessons for a Post-American Century	A very intriguing analysis of the fall of the Soviet empire. It really hits home by comparing that experience to what the American people may experience in an economic collapse scenario. All kinds of advice; how much land is needed / person, investments, health care, etc.
	Space Storm Alert: 90 seconds from catastrophe	Complexity is often a problem. The power grid is a very, very complex system. It is quite vulnerable. And, the sun may provide the events to bring it to its knees. A report was funded by NASA and issued by the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and publish in Jan 2009. We may be facing a "Carrington event", which could cause a major disruption. Do you have the ability to sanitize water for drinking and cooking purposes? Make it a priority to assure you do.
	Steep Decline In Oil Production Brings Risk of War and Instability	When reading this title, "No kidding?" comes to mind. Perhaps the title is a little less alarmist to those unfamiliar with the prospects or meaning of "Peak Oil"? When the cheapest energy source ever available to mankind becomes less accessible, or unavailable, it just might cause problems. Seems an obvious conclusion. I am usually surprised to find an article in the mainstream press on these topics. This one is short and easily read. Published by the Guardian. The peak in oil production occurred in 2006, according to this article. Expect a 7% annual production decline.
	World Oil Production Graph	I am very visual. Graphs help me greatly when trying to make sense out of large quantities of data. Here is a graph that summarizes the energy problems. It shows the worldwide oil productions. Production growth has halted. The current trend is flat.