<Drumbeat: May 3, 2009 The Oil Drum Drumbeat: May 4, 2009>

89 comments on Peak Oil and Mass Communication

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Matt on May 3, 2009 - 10:54am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Peak oil will happen, or more correctly, has happened. The consequences of peak oil are currently happening but almost no one realizes it

Peak oil (2005-2008) is covered up by the financial crisis which was triggered by peak oil. It's the "greedy bankers" who are to be blamed.

They will panic....

Because they will mix up the peaking with "running out of oil" which is the next disaster. And this is the whole drama evolving now. Those who suppressed peak oil news wanted to avoid the panic and did not warn the banks that peak oil is around. Consequently, eternal growth was universally assumed, which caused mis-investments and ultimately the banking crisis. So this peak oil denial mode terribly backfired.

...they will demand that action be taken to correct the situation...

Like asking OPEC to pump more oil. Then the truth comes out about their paper barrels, all reserves will come under scrutiny and suddenly the world will realize there is much less oil than on the books. That will be the last act in the peak oil denial game.

And that might happen all within the next 5 years or so, if not earlier when there is another oil or oil proxy war but that will then also be used to cover up peak oil.

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Termoil on May 3, 2009 - 7:46pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

OPEC's paper barrels may not come under as much scrutiny as you think. A differnt scenario would have the western hordes clinging to OPEC's paper barrels and thumping the desk demanding they be produced...by force if necessary. It could all get very messy without the peak oil paradigm ever seeing the light of day.

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Matt on May 3, 2009 - 11:11pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

....thumping the desk demanding they be produced....

We have been there before in 2008. That's what President Bush said in January 2008:

If they don't have a lot of additional oil to put on the market, it is hard to ask somebody to do something they may not be able to do.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4140859

President Bush Questions Saudi Ability to Raise Oil Supply
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/3514

Nevertheless he tried it again in May 2008:

Saudis Rebuff Bush, Politely, on Pumping More Oil
"President Bush used a private visit to King Abdullah’s ranch here on Friday to make another appeal for an increase in oil production that might give American consumers some relief at the gasoline pump. The Saudis responded by announcing they had decided a week ago on a modest increase of 300,000 barrels a day.
The White House said the increase would not be enough to lower gasoline prices, which are nearing $4 a gallon, and industry analysts called it mostly symbolic."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/17/world/middleeast/17prexy.html

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89 comments on Peak Oil and Mass Communication

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