PEAK OIL: When about half the world’s oil supply is used up, production reaches its highest level and then declines 2-3% a year, even as demand grows. Relentlessly, year after year the world has to make do with less oil, even as there are more and more of us. Growing numbers of leading petroleum geologists and analysts believe we are at global "Peak Oil" now or will be within a few years.

Fossil fuels are involved in nearly all we own, eat, wear, do, and everywhere we go. Salt Lake imports nearly all its energy, food, and material goods, often from thousands of miles away - all brought here using fossil fuels. We are somewhat like a Mars colony in this respect. Our city's ecological footprint is far larger than the physical square mileage of the Salt Lake area. If Salt Lake were to lose more than a small percentage of its imports OR if the price for these items, or their transport, were to rise significantly, we could not support our existing population at current levels of consumption.

When we finally agree on the date of peak oil, it will already be upon us or will have already passed:
• Leading experts predict peak will occur within this decade.
• Natural gas is predicted to peak around 2020, compounding the peak oil issue. North American natural gas has already peaked. Transporting it across the ocean is costly and risky.

The gap between oil consumption & oil discovery is growing:
• Global oil discovery peaked in 1964.
• Discovery has declined steadily since.
• Since 1981, the world has consumed more than it has found.
• Today, we consume 4 or 5 barrels of oil for every 1 barrel that is discovered.

Our economies are dangerously oil dependent:
• Oil and natural gas currently account for 65% of global energy consumption.
• Oil accounts for 95% of global energy used for transportation.
• In the U.S., food travels an average of 1500 miles from farm to plate.
• For every calorie we eat, we “consume” at least 10 calories of fossil fuel - used in raising, processing, and transporting.
• We rely on hundreds of fossil fuel-based products in our daily lives: plastics, clothing, medicines, appliances, ammonia, shoes, roads, toys, fertilizer, computers, cars, building materials, tires, detergents, paints, cosmetics, insecticides.
• Chinese oil consumption has doubled in the last decade, demonstrating that oil dependency is not only a developed world issue.
• Oil prices may become increasingly volatile, impacting the entire economy.
• Nations will compete for dwindling resources, escalation international tensions.

How do we know this is going to happen?
• U.S. production peaked in 1970, and is now at less than half its peak.
• 95% of global oil comes from 45 nations - most have peaked.
• The second and third-largest world’s super-giant fields have peaked, and the first-largest may have peaked.
• These declines will more than offset new discoveries.

What about largely untapped “non-conventional sources”?
• Tar sands, oil shale, heavy oil, and coal-to-liquids all use a lot of energy to produce.
• Producing from these sources causes a lot of pollution, including major releases of greenhouse gases.
• This sort of production proceeds slowly, and is difficult to scale up.

Can’t we just shift to alternative energy sources?
• Presently, there is no replacement for oil’s energy density.
• Ethanol and biofuels use alot of oil and gas to produce, and their production will compete with food production.
• Creating hydrogen uses alot of energy. It may never be viable for use in cars.
• Any viable solution(s) are still years away, and will take years to implement.