Canwest News Service
Re: Oil And The Minds of Men, Peter Foster, Sept. 5
This column clearly illustrates the hazards of semi-technical writing by a professional journalist.
Foster correctly states that the discovery of oil depends upon vision, technical innovation and commitment but, he then jumps to the unrelated and improbable conclusion that Peak Oil theory "represents economic ignorance." If he is unable to reach the logical conclusion that petroleum is a finite resource, he should have consulted a few geologists. To paraphrase Will Rogers, they’re not making any more oil.
To be classed as "reserve," petroleum must be economically exploitable and, with constantly improving technology, more is constantly being so-classed. Nevertheless, oil is not found "in the minds of men," it is found in the ground. Sooner or later, all possibilities will be exhausted, and sometime between then and now, world production will peak, if it hasn’t already done so.
There have been some major discoveries in the last few years, most notably Tupi, off the coast of Brazil. Nevertheless, new reserves are barely keeping pace with annual production–precisely what Peak Oil theory predicts.
Contrary to Foster’s dogmatic assertion, practical alternatives to oil already exist. One is nuclear-generated electricity for road and rail transport and another is liquefaction of some of the world’s immense coal deposits. Conversion to those energy sources would take decades to accomplish. If we don’t start to convert now, life in the industrialized world is going to become very unpleasant indeed. To get where we have to go will require a high degree of commitment and, unfortunately, government intervention to get things rolling. It would alsobe helpful, to paraphrase Shakespeare to, "first, kill all the environmentalists."
Lee Morrison, Calgary.