Humanity is headed down a slippery path to its own demise. The way we fuel our most precious machines and power our cities everyday is killing the planet, destroying ecosystems, and causing massive repercussions that are outside of our control.  The fossil fuels that we use to power are finite, and many scientists agree that we are on a path to quickly use up those finite resources.

            Petroleum, it’s a truly amazing product, used in almost every industry. Its uses range from plastics, to medicines, and many more applications are being developed on a constant basis. Yet we continue to burn this valuable, albeit limited, resource. A well-respected geophysicist named Dr. M. King Hubbert was an authority on anything petrol. He predicted where the largest oil reserve was, Ghawar - Saudi Arabia, when the US oil production would peak, and, most discerning, when the world production of oil would peak.

His predictions were accurate, every time.

The fact that we have already past the halfway point of oil production is discerning enough. Now, combine that with the fact that developing countries, such as China and India are rapidly updating their infrastructures to allow for more automobiles and we have a serious problem. Studies show that as currently developed countries are working to lower their carbon emissions (through the burning of fossil fuels and aerosols), developing countries continue to emit increasing amounts.  

So how does that affect us gas-guzzlers?

Well, there’s the obvious economical impact for such high demands of a product where the supply is known to be dwindling. A very near future with gas prices as high as 9, 10, maybe even 20 dollars a gallon, is not out of the question. Even more threatening, however is the continuing rise of CO2 levels in the atmosphere and oceans.

Numbers of the Apocalypse: 450 ppm and 2 °C

Currently levels of carbon in the atmosphere are 388.15 ppm, as of August, 2010.

Unless something is done, we are doomed to either run out of oil or cause a dramatic change in our climate to occur. Fire or Ice, either one would suffice.  

The world relies so much on oil these days and many countries are aware of the consequences of this addiction. Countries like China and India have massive populations which probably makes it difficult for them to manage their emissions, but a country like the United States should be leading the pack in lowering our CO2 emissions. The Kyoto Accord was created to commit more countries to the fight on Global Warming but (when i last checked) the U.S. has yet to express any intention to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Compared to oil, the Sun is the world's largest source of energy. The benefits of utilizing this energy must outweigh the consequences. Also, we should devote our time to using other forms of energy like wind and hydro-electric power. The possibilities are there.  - Ronald

You can get a lot of information about oil use and its future from the documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth".  You can find very convincing facts like Americans are 5% of the world's population but use 25% of the world's energy.  Those are not the correct numbers, but it's out there.  For visuals, don't forget about 'Crude Awakening' from Burning Man. ~ Jay