How did you find out about peak oil?

Leanan · News Editor Joined: May 20, 2004 Posts: 4529

Thought it might be interesting to hear how people ended up here. How did you hear about peak oil? Did you believe it immediately, or did it take you awhile to accept it?

I guess I've always believed in peak oil. I was a child during the '70s oil crisis, and I remember hearing that we only had enough oil to last another 30 or 40 years. That seemed like forever back then. All of a sudden, time's running out.

And I guess I've always accepted it because my dad believed in Malthus' doom. He's a very conservative, down-to-earth, logical man - the quintessential scientist. Not the kind to believe in something unless it's scientifically proven. But he had only two children, though my mom wanted more, because he was concerned about overpopulation. And he specialized in agronomy, because his high school guidance counselor told him that feeding the world would soon be a major problem. (My dad jokes that he forgot that people who can't afford food can't pay very much.)

I used to try to argue with my dad about Malthus, pointing out that his prediction hadn't come true yet. I thought technology would save us. My dad didn't agree. He said the Green Revolution had only postponed Malthus' doom, not eradicated it. I guess I've come around to my dad's point of view on that.

So...how did you find out about peak oil?

Itch · Heavy Crude Joined: Jun 30, 2004 Posts: 338

Matt's site from that one time it was listed on Fark. I think I was probably one of the only people on that site that actually read the entire thing, or at least what was available.

some_guy282 · Intermediate Crude Joined: Jul 18, 2004 Posts: 691

I found out about Peak Oil the day before my birthday, on February 24th of this year. I stumbled across Matt's site and much of his information seemed to make sense, so I went out and bought The Party's Over. Been a believer ever since.

Keis · Coal Joined: May 21, 2004 Posts: 12

Found out through www.fromthewilderness.com.
Bought "Party's over" and read it.. Then hours of reading on the internet..

azreal60 · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 1:54 pm Post subject:

MREA (midwest renewable energy association had their annual energy fair this august. I went and was running around getting as much info as possible. The keynote speaker the last day was richard heinburg. I heard him speak before i ever read his book. I then got a signed copy of the parties over, and googled peak oil on the internet. Peak oil .com was the first site that came up. Did not take long of reading the forums to realize i liked it here.
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Azreal60

Pops · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 2:13 pm Post subject:

I’ve always “known about” the limits of oil; my grandfather was a wildcatter in OK and by the time he was worn out so was the family’s oil wells. They became “Defense Plant Okies” in the ‘40s - our own mini Post Peak scenario.

I was convinced that the human population was heading towards spoiling our own nest back in the ‘70s as well. Of course I went on to follow the rest of the heard to the troughs anyway.

I read about Hubert and “PO” in a book titled “When Technology Fails”, learned about DieOff from another board, and then found Matt’s site.

I was discouraged that there was plenty of PO Doomsters who seemed to have nothing to say except “we’re dead” on the one hand, and on the other hand, plenty of survivalist/homesteader type-sites with the knowledge to survive post-peak; but the two never mixed.

Many of the “Shotgun, rifle and 4 wheel drive” folks think PO is an enviro-commie conspiracy because the constitution guarantees their right to a V8 and duals - I also own a shotgun, rifle and 4 wheel drive BTW. Most of the posters on the “Homesteader” sites are commuters with a big suburban lot and only interested for the most part in their new Martha Stewart inspired chickens – they are just as likely to dismiss PO because it would mean the end of their hobby-farm.

At any rate that’s why I try to encourage folks who see the possibility of a near term peak to get their head out of their CRTs and do something other than wring their hands.
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Roy · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 2:48 pm Post subject:

My father was something of a survivalist. He gave me the book "Population Bomb" to read when I was a kid.

He always talked about oil being a finite resource so I guess the seeds were planted at a young age.

I happened to be reading a newsgroup, rec.autos.driving, one day in May. There was a post there mentioning an article in National Geographic called "The End of Cheap Oil" which was linked.

I read the short online version. At the bottom of the article was a link to a discussion of the story on NatGeog's site. I was reading through the messages and saw a link to www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net (Matt's site).

I went there and literally opened up a can of worms. I only wish I had learned about POT sooner. So I could've starting having a more realistic outlook on my life years ago. I knew oil would start to run out eventually but I though I would be an old man before that happened (I'm 36).

I was as guilty as anyone for chasing money and things. Needless to say I've been reading everything I can find on the subject. Talk about a change of heart! Fortunately my wife has bought into the preparation mind set as well.

And thank you to all the knowledgeable, articulate posters here for sharing your opinions and information.

Roy

pip · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 3:09 pm Post subject:

Saw it mentioned on a Texas A&M football forum.

Gig 'em
Class of '97

Whitecrab · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 3:10 pm Post subject:

I’m studying chemical engineering, so I could get a job in the oil or petrochemical industry if I wanted to. Before I’d ever heard of peak, I vaguely considered I didn’t want to get a job in the oil industry because we needed to get off oil “sometime” and I wanted to be part of the solution, not the problem. So I wanted to look into efficiency or bioprocessing for a career. But I saw nothing in the news, saw every projection graph having other energy sources smoothly taking over for oil, and assumed we had enough to meet society’s needs (of course, otherwise people would be worried) and it was a vague environmental/futurist’s concern. So I’d do my little bit to conserve and maybe do some research or work taking over for oil, maybe not, whatever.

Someone brought up www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net at another message board I visit occasionally, around the start of this calendar year. So I took a quick look, went “hmm…” and left it for awhile because I was busy at the time. Then I was getting to the end of school this year, took a look again, started getting really worried. Eventually I just forced myself to ignore it until after exams, and then read voraciously about it. Between the “it’s definitely when” logic of PO and the horrors of the dieoff scenarios, I said “well I have to make sure for myself there’s a solution, or I can’t ignore this.” And when none was forthcoming… registered here.

Interestingly, learning how important oil is means I wouldn’t object to joining the oil or tar sands industry now. Wonder if peak oil means there’ll be more or less work for the industry? Laughing

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KiddieKorral · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 3:20 pm Post subject:

I'm a big fan of Michael Moore, and I read his book as soon as it came out. Chapter 3 is all about peak oil.

I did some research, and the more I read, the more sense everything made.
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coyote-2012 · Coal Joined: Jul 17, 2004 Posts: 11 Location: Los Angeles

I saw Michael Ruppert give a speech in Los Angeles about it. He started his lecture by saying, "My job here today is to scare you." He laid out the Peak Oil argument in typical Ruppert fashion... lots of slides and the definitive Ruppert seriousness. My mind was blown as were many others. I'd been getting very politically charged in the post-9/11 world, but this issue trumped every thought I'd ever had. I checked stuff out on the internet and found Savinar's page. Started talking to a home-steader guy that I met on the guestpage of Acidlogic http://www.acidlogic.com I bought "The Party's Over." Talked to a few friends about it.

Been hittin' the surplus stores often. I now have field manuals on survival, medical needs, and top secret dirty tricks from various special forces. I wish I could buy more.
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And if there is no room upon the hill
And if your head explodes with dark forbodings too
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon"

pip · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 3:37 pm Post subject:

Whitecrab,
I'm a chemical engineer also. I work in refining and at least for the time being it is the best industry you can be in for chem e. My company is giving max bonuses and max raises right now with no end in sight. We're hiring so many people that we put up about 15 temporary trailers for office space at the refinery because there not enough space. I don't know of many industries is that position right now.

I have been contacted by recruiters from Shell looking for people to work in the oil sands projects in Canada. I've got no desire to leave the great state of Texas so I haven't looked into it at all, but if you want to work in the tar sands projects I would say there will be a lot of opportunity there when you graduate.

Barbara · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 3:38 pm Post subject:

I have a strong passion on geopolitics. I've read tons of books and extensively searched the Internet on the topic, looking for informations on what's happening in the world right now. I began to think there's something very big hiding behind our strange times, behind wars, terrorism, globalization and the world politics.
About one year ago, during my endless searches I stumbled into dieoff.com. I've found it very serious, it didn't look like another conspiracy site. From them on, I've found oilcrash.com and ASPO site, and when I discovered Matt's site I was already well convinced and informed.
I tried to join RunningOnEmpty newsgroup, but I don't like newsgroups, they are too complicated. When I've found this forum, I felt at home.

I "believe" in peak oil because this theory explains everything. You just need to read the news to know it's real.
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Objects in the rear view mirror
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Andy · Intermediate Crude Joined: May 16, 2004 Posts: 519

I always knew that we needed to be careful with fossil fuel use. From about 1988, I realized that we had to do something about fossil fuel dependency after reading about various alternative energy systems. Then, Colin Campbell came out with his article on the impending peak and decline in cheap hydrocarbons and I was hooked around 1997 I think. It just explained realistically what I suspected all along regarding fossil fuels. Since then, internet browsing etc. has made me more knowledgeable on the subject.

smiley · Fission Joined: Apr 16, 2004 Posts: 2125 Location: Europe