The Peak Oil "Crush"
Charlie Petit at Science Tracker has a confession. He doesn’t think he’s the only one, either:
A lot of science journalists who cover energy issues have probably gone through an infatuation stage, and then break-up, with a seductive actor: Peak Oil. It appeals to any reporter trying to cover a beat where numbers and natural (that is, based on reality and science) processes are important. Plus it’s geology.
Charlie, in his own uniquely engaging manner, seems to have fun while he’s drawing our attention to notable science stories (and occasional blog posts) of the day. His short, conversational anecdotes (sometimes cleverly disguised as gentle critiques) are like the warm-up act to the main show.
He and the Tracker have become essential reading for science & environmental journalists. Yet his style seems geared to a non-journalist audience as well, which is a good thing.
Peak oil is an economics argument.
Has there ever been peak anything?
Mankind has lived through the stone age, the bronze age, the wood age, the horse age…
All of these things are still available today but have been replaced by other things.
I’m looking forward to “peak pessimism” when all this negativity drops off and we can get on enjoying life and looking forwards to an exciting future.
Peak oil is popular with journalists because there is lot of stuff you can google quickly when you’re writing a story.
However, the data behind it is pretty weak, and any basic economics suggests that as the price of a resource rises, people would be willing to spend more to develop it.