by Celeste Froehlich

Created on: July 30, 2008

As oil prices weigh like a yoke on the American economy, and we all feel the pain, it is very tempting to look for more oil closer to home, but this would be a very short-sighted and risky solution. From the water cooler to the dinner table, Americans have engaged this summer in a national debate about why the cost of gas is so high. People point to greedy oil companies, speculators, or the rising energy demands of developing nations, but little has been said about Peak Oil. Not only is oil running out, but we are wasting precious resources on finding more of it at a time when we have to find a way to use less if we are to avert planetary disater. As Al Gore recently stated in his challenge to America: "We borrow money from China, to buy oil from Saudi Arabia, that is poisoning our planet." The risks of offshore drilling for the health of our oceans and our planet are astronomical- ranging from poisoning ocean life and fish and contributing to the Climate Crisis.

Even if we just look at this issue from an economic perspective, seeking more fossil fuels, whether it is on the offshore continental shelf or in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), makes no sense. The oil in ANWR would last the United States at current consumption levels about 7 months, and it would take about 10 years to develop. It would be too little too late.

We have reached a plateau in global oil production since 2005, our clearest indicator yet that we are at or nearing Peak Oil. Peak Oil is the point in time when we reach maximum global oil production, after which production begins to decline. The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO) predicted in their January 2008 newsletter that the peak in all oil (including non-conventional sources), would occur in 2010. ASPO Ireland in its May 2008 newsletter, number 89, advanced the date of the peak of overall liquids from 2010 to 2007. If they are correct, we have already reached the peak. The predicted consequences of Peak Oil range from skyrocketing fuel costs to global economic collapse, but the real consequences depend entirely on how quickly we curb demand through massive investment in alternative energy.

The upside is that higher oil prices actually make alternative energy production economically viable. This places the solution to the Climate Crisis within our reach. We have enough solar and wind energy in the West and Midwest to power our entire nation.

As a nation we need to invest in a massive program to harness this renewable energy, a program akin to JFK's investment in space that put man on the moon, a program that will also create thousands of new "green collar" jobs so that workers can afford the cars of the future. Finally, we need dramatic political mobilization to break through government inertia and red tape in order to rapidly accelerate from alternative energy baby steps to the next "giant leap" of humankind.

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