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'''Peak oil''', as theorized by opponents of [[fossil fuels]] usage, is the point at which when global [[oil]] production will reach a peak or maximum, from which they say itwill begin an irreversible decline.
'''Peak oil''', as theorized by opponents of [[fossil fuels]] usage, is the point at which when global [[oil]] production will reach a peak or maximum, from which they say it will begin an irreversible decline.
Global oil production will peak sometime between 2008 and 2018 and then decline, according to a controversial new model developed Swedish University of Uppsalla physicist Fredrik Robelius.<ref name=Fox20060418>Melinda Wenner [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266764,00.html Study: 'Peak Oil' Will Be Reached by 2018] April 18, 2007 [[Fox News]]</ref> According to a recent U.S. Government GAO report, world oil production will peak between now and 2040<ref>[http://www.energybulletin.net/28016.html Coverage of the GAO peak oil report] Energy Bulletin, Mar 29, 2007</ref>
Global oil production will peak sometime between 2008 and 2018 and then decline, according to a controversial new model developed Swedish University of Uppsalla physicist Fredrik Robelius.<ref name=Fox20060418>Melinda Wenner [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266764,00.html Study: 'Peak Oil' Will Be Reached by 2018] April 18, 2007 [[Fox News]]</ref> According to a recent U.S. Government GAO report, world oil production will peak between now and 2040<ref>[http://www.energybulletin.net/28016.html Coverage of the GAO peak oil report] Energy Bulletin, Mar 29, 2007</ref>
It should also be noted that this is not a new concept, but has been around in different forms for many years. During the early 1970's in the United States, it was claimed that world oil would run out in 35 years, a claim that never came to pass.
It should also be noted that this is not a new concept, but has been around in different forms for many years. During the early 1970's in the United States, it was claimed that world oil would run out in 35 years, a claim that never came to pass.
Lindsey Williams, a Baptist chaplain to the 1970s Trans-Alaska Pipeline project, asserts in his 1980 book ''The Energy Non-Crisis'' that oil finds have been deliberately suppressed including a large find at Gull Island, Alaska.<ref>http://www.reformation.org/energy-non-crisis.html</ref> Williams has resurfaced recently giving public speeches on the same topic in response to recent "peak oil" and "energy crisis" scares.
''The Myth of the Oil Crisis'' by Robin M. Mills<ref>http://oilcrisismyth.com/</ref> is a 2008 book extensively documenting how "peak oil" theories are based on flawed assumptions and discredited science. Mills asserts that unconventional oil resources are much larger than conventional oil sources and have barely been developed at this point, leaving hundreds of years of oil yet to extract.
==Maybe not "Fossil Fuel"==
==Maybe not "Fossil Fuel"==
Thomas Gold at [[Cornell University]], assert that the sources of oil may not be “fossil fuels” in limited supply, but instead [[Abiotic oil|abiotic]] in nature (meaning not produced by a life process). According to Professor Gold, oil is produced by an abiogenic process, deep within the earth. The scientific community has not been eager to affirm this thesis. In fact, they tend to resist it. In 1992 Gold published a paper titled “The Deep Hot Biosphere”, later expanded into a 1999 book of the same name. In this paper he suggested that oil is non-biologically produced, deep within the earth. In other words, oil is not a fossil fuel. The Department of Energy refused to fund his research although both outcomes would have been good - If the research uncovered sources of oil that did not take millions of years to produce, it would be a bonanza for oil companies. If abiogenic petroleum sources are found to be abundant, it would mean Earth contains vast reserves of untapped petroleum. On the other hand, if his research failed, this research proposal will contribute strongly to fundamental science in petroleum engineering. So far, the DOE has refused to fund any of his research because it is counter to the mainstream effort.<ref>J. R. Nyquist [http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/geo/pastanalysis/2006/0508.html Debunking Peak Oil] May 8, 2006 [[Geopolitical]].</ref>
An alternative hypothesis to that of the common "fossil fuel" hypothesis of oil formation is the "abiotic" or "abiogenic" hypothesis. Thomas Gold of [[Cornell University]] has been the most prominent advocate of this theory in the West during his lifetime. Gold died in 2004.
Thomas Gold asserts that the sources of oil may not be “fossil fuels” in limited supply, but instead [[Abiotic oil|abiotic]] in nature (meaning not produced by a life process). According to Professor Gold, oil is produced by an abiogenic process, deep within the earth. The scientific community has not been eager to affirm this thesis. In fact, they tend to resist it. In 1992 Gold published a paper titled “The Deep Hot Biosphere”, later expanded into a 1999 book of the same name. In this paper he suggested that oil is non-biologically produced, deep within the earth. In other words, oil is not a fossil fuel. The Department of Energy refused to fund his research although both outcomes would have been good - If the research uncovered sources of oil that did not take millions of years to produce, it would be a bonanza for oil companies. If abiogenic petroleum sources are found to be abundant, it would mean Earth contains vast reserves of untapped petroleum. On the other hand, if his research failed, this research proposal will contribute strongly to fundamental science in petroleum engineering. So far, the DOE has refused to fund any of his research because it is counter to the mainstream effort.<ref>J. R. Nyquist [http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/geo/pastanalysis/2006/0508.html Debunking Peak Oil] May 8, 2006 [[Geopolitical]].</ref>
==External links==
==External links==