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    There is an alternative to foreign oil that is located within the United State’s borders, yet not receiving much publicity right now.  This alternative is oil shale, carbonate rock that is rich in organic material and which can be processed to convert it to crude oil.  The richest oil shale formations in the United States are located in the area known as the Green River Formation in  Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado.  The United States Department of Energy estimates that there are about 1.8 trillion barrels of oil that are in potentially recoverable deposits,  enough oil to power our nation for centuries.  So why is this not garnering much in the way of national attention right now with  prices near $90 a barrel? 

    The answer resides in the fact that it is currently not even close to economically feasible to pursue this oil.  The production process to convert oil shale to usable crude is far more extensive than that of conventional crude.   Where conventional oil is drilled from the ground, oil shale must be strip minded rather than drilled, a process in which about 40% of the available energy is wasted.  Vast increases in the power supply in these states would be needed to drive production.  Oil shale is also very costly in terms of water, as multiple gallons of water would be needed for every one gallon of oil produced. 

    As if conventional oil isn’t harmful enough for our environment, the production of oil shale is estimated to release four times as many greenhouse gas pollutants than the former.  With the enormous amounts of inputs required to drive production, it’s easy to see why.  In this age of widespread concern over global warming and going green, oil shale is a step backward.  These three states would instantly go from some of the cleanest and most beautiful to one of our nation’s heaviest polluters, not even mentioning the loss and destruction of habit as well.

    These are the basic facts.  Yes, we need to break our foreign oil addiction, but oil shale is currently not the savior it is billed by some to be.  There are far too many economic consequences for it to be a viable problem-solver.  Barring any massive breakthroughs in production technology, oil shale will have a tough, tough time making it big.  Only time will tell how this will play out.  I’m sure we will hearing a lot more about this in the near future.

    The discussion about peak oil begins with the question of how much oil is left underground to be recovered. Only then can we make knowledgeable statements and predictions about the future for oil as a fuel to rely on. According to a 2000 study by the U.S. Geological Survey, there was approximately 3 trillion recoverable barrels of oil underground, of which we have used slightly under 1 trillion barrels already. So if that prediction is remotely accurate, we should have no problem getting the fuel we need for generations to come, right? Well, theoretically yes, but it’s not quite that simple.

    When debating peak oil, we need to not only consider the amount of oil left, but whether that oil can be found and produced to meet the world’s growing demand. If we can’t keep up with demand it doesn’t matter how many trillions of barrels there are. Naturally, the easiest to find oil is going to be found and produced first, leaving the remains in ever-remote and difficult spots to reach, such as deposits that are found in very deep water oceans. This oil is neither easy to find nor to produce. Only with recent advances in technology can we even get to this oil, and it is still not cheap to do so.

    We are going to need more and more breakthroughs in technology in order to get the oil we need at a price that allows for economic growth and stability. If it costs $120 a barrel to bring this remote oil to the market, it will have severe consequences on the world economy. It really is hard to say for sure how it will play out. With the world demand for oil expected to grow steadily and steadily, we are currently wagering huge amounts on the oil industry’s ability to deliver the goods. I, however, don’t think we should bank on a fuel that is becoming ever-more difficult to find and produce.

    Do you believe we are seeing the effects of peak oil right now with the price of oil steadily climbing upward? It’s hard to say for sure. As for me, I believe we could be dangerously close to peak oil, and it is a very scary thought. There are plenty of arguments to dispute it, something along the lines of “Middle Eastern countries and OPEC or our government are behind the high prices and we should see oil return to $30 a barrel”, but we need to take a bit deeper look.

    Over the last 30-some years, our oil production in the United States has slowly but surely declined steadily, making us more and more dependent on foreign sources, particularly Middle Eastern sources. How much longer can the oil fields of the Middle East keep up with the continuous world growth and surge in demand? These fields have been pumping for a long time now, with no big exploration finds to supplement them. The production will ultimately decline much like it has in the US as millions of barrels of oil are pumped out every single day. It is not a question of if it will happen, but rather when it will happen. With the sheer volume of oil that the Middle East supplies the world, if its production begins to falter, we are in big, big trouble of not having the supplies we need.

    Of course the Middle East is not our only supplier of oil, but this problem is not confined to that area (it just makes a good example as the thought of a country like Saudi Arabia struggling to pump oil seems ludicrous). Most oil-producing countries of the world are facing the same situation; production that is far ahead of exploration. Peak Oil is not a topic to take lightly, even if you are doubtful that it is even an issue right now. There is massive amounts of information and debates on the peak oil subject, and I will try to consume as much as I can to bring new, up-to-date information on both sides of the subject to this site.