[Peakoil-announce] this letter was printed in the Canberra Times yesterday

[Jenny Goldie]

Who can disagree with Ian Lowe that climate change is the most important issue in this election (Climate change is most vital issue for next govt, Opinion, 18 August)? 

But there is another issue of almost equal magnitude that is being virtually ignored.

That issue is peak oil. What is it? According to former oil company geologist Colin Campbell, peak oil is "the maximum rate of the production of oil in any area under consideration, recognising that it is a finite natural resource, subject to depletion." US oil production peaked in the 1970s and is now 30 per cent less. Australia's oil production peaked in 2000. Both countries have steadily imported more and more oil since their respective peaks, however, now global supplies are around or past the peak - many analysts say it was in July 2008 - and importing oil will become increasingly expensive as demand outstrips supply.

What does this mean for the Australian economy? A lot unfortunately, as oil underpins our whole industrialised economy, including agriculture. Everything that is made from oil will become more expensive as oil prices inevitably rise. Unless there is a coherent strategy to wean ourselves of oil and find alternative sources of energy, we will face crisis. 

One who warned about real levels of oil supply from Saudi fields was the investment banker Matthew Simmons, author of 'Twilight in the Desert'. His sudden death last week at age 67 is a huge loss. 


Jenny Goldie
Michelago