Peak Oil Survival

The theory of peak oil can be a scary one if you get carried away with it. This naturally raises the subject of peak oil survival, but perhaps not in the way you might imagine.

Alarmist Media

The first thing to understand is peak oil lends itself to some serious hype. The theory is actually one based on scientific predictions by a pre-eminent geologist, but the theory lends itself to Mad Max like scenarios when it is not applied correctly.

There are a number of peak oil documentaries, shows and movies out there. All of them are alarming. They usually start off with a family enjoying their daily lives. Then one day oil prices spike. The next day, people are starving, wearing odd bondage outfits, riding motorcycles and clubbing one another over the head with bats. Oh, joy.

Fortunately, the Hollywood treatment is way off. Peak oil theory does not suggest that we are going to suddenly run out of oil. It doesn’t even suggest that we eventually will. All it really says is the amount of oil we can produce a day will eventually plateau. It will then start a steady decline. This will happen over years, not days. This means peak oil survival will not involve whacking your neighbor over the head with a bat.

Peak Oil Survival

The simple fact is we are probably in a period of peak oil as we speak. The signs would be oil prices rising despite what economic indicators tell us. This is exactly what is happening. The politicians have told us for practically forever that the Saudis would be able to fill any production shortages if needed. Well, the clear indication is they cannot. How do we know this? They are starting to admit as much, but a clearer sign is the recent decision of the United States and others to release 60 million barrels from strategic reserves to try to lower oil prices. It won’t work, but it is the first sign of a price problem driven by demand.

Peak Oil Survival Strategies

As production declines at a rate of two to three percent a year, oil prices will continue to rise. This means you, me and everyone are in store for some serious lifestyle changes. Strategies you want to employ include converting to hybrid or electric cars that don’t rely on gas. You might also want to move closer to your job to minimize gas expenses. Food prices are going to go up a lot as well, so learning to garden could be a very smart move. Loading up on storable food is another important step as shortages may occur as trucking companies go out of business.

Long-Term

So, what about the long term? Will we really go “Mad Max”? No, we won’t. There isn’t even a remote chance of it. The reason is we have more natural gas than we know what to do with. When the oil squeeze begins, we will start the expensive and painful process of moving from an oil based economy to one dependent on natural gas. It will not be fun and it will not be cheap, but modern civilization will continue with nary a bad leather outfit to be scene!

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