According to the government, the oil industry, and the media, the outlook for oil supplies, especially in the US, are better than they have been for decades.  The challenge seems to be what are we going to do with it all.

Reality, however, reveals a different story, but one that resists a one-line summary.  To understand what’s ahead, we have to understand the role of energy in the economy, the nature of oil, and the many challenges facing future supply adequacy.  The old debate on “peak oil” centered around predicting the date when extraction would begin to decline, but we’ve all learned there is more to it.  We will never “run out of oil,” but as supplies become harder and more expensive to extract, the ability of society to afford to use it will decline.

I recently wrote a piece called “Oil Abundance? Not So Fast” for, and in collaboration with, the Association for the Study of Peak Oil – USA.  It appears in the “publications” section of this blog, and here. [PDF]

If you’re involved in the oil discussion in any way, I encourage you to read this for an overview of all the issue involved.