Peak Oil

LONDON (Reuters) March 31 2005- Oil prices could touch $105 a barrel in the next few years, the influential investment bank Goldman Sachs said Thursday.

In December of 2004 the military and intelligence community came out in unprecedented support of renewable energy. While the mainstream press remained silent, Goldman Sachs, the biggest trader of energy derivatives, was certainly not surprised. Three months later Goldman acquired Zilkha, a sizeable wind energy developer. They already had interests in wind farms in Wyoming, Oregon and California.
The issue is not one of "running out" so much as it is not having enough to keep our economy running. In a similar sense, an oil-based economy such as ours doesn't have to deplete its entire reserves of oil before it begins to collapse. A shortfall between demand and supply as little as 10-15 percent is enough to wholly shatter an oil-dependent economy and reduce its citizenry to poverty.
During the 1970s oil shocks, shortfalls in production as small as 5% caused the price of oil to nearly quadruple.  The same thing happened in California a few years ago with natural gas: a production drop of less than 5% caused prices to skyrocket by 400%.

These are the conclusions of a series of experts in the global oil reserves field. No matter how soon the permanent "super spike" in oil prices occurs, the American economy is not ready for it. The world now uses $82 million barrels a day.
The oil producers are dependent on its 14 largest fields; the surveyors have now surveyed the last unknown area, the Caspian Sea, and have concluded all the mega fields are already known. On average they are 54 years old. A few pleasant surprises, 500 million barrel reservoirs have been found recently. 500 million barrels represents just six days of world consumption!

What to Do?

"People will feel the crunch,....If you are not prepared in a supportive community intent on transitioning to self-sufficiency, then your chances of surviving are drastically reduced.

Find some place or some way to grow as much of your own food as you can, where your neighbors are supportive. Plan to do without gas or electricity. Rediscover the old ways. Dust off those back copies of Mother Earth News stacked in the attic. It is time to prepare." Dale Pfeiffer Science Journalist fromthewilderness.com

References:

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

http://www.fromthewilderness.com/