What is Peak Oil?

There’s only so much oil in the ground, and that means at some point the amount we’re pulling out has to hit its maximum and start irreversibly dwindling. That point, when the amount of oil we’re producing begins to go into decline, is referred to as “peak oil.” It’s not about running out of oil—it’s about the end of the era when oil is cheap, plentiful and easy to extract.

So why is this important?

In short, the key elements of our industrialized society are highly dependent on cheap, easy oil—food production, transportation, medicine, heating, etc. Declining oil supplies mean that we won't have these things on hand in the amount to which we’re accustomed anymore —and at that means a lot of rapid changes are going to occur for which we’ll need to be prepared. Unfortunately, governments at large don’t seem to be responding on nearly the scale that’s necessary for an effective mitigation and adaptation response to the challenge. Which leads to the question…

What can we do?

The best thing we can do is to start acting within our local communities to move away from our over-dependence on fossil fuels. This means increasing the community’s resilience and self-sufficiency. The folks at Transition US put it best: “The Transition Movement believes that is up to us in our local communities to step into a leadership position on the issue of peak oil. It is easy to wonder just how much difference you can make in your own community when the problems are so huge and overwhelming. But remember: whenever you do this kind of work, you are inspiring other people. And then they take up the challenge and inspire others. In this way, your small contribution can ripple out into your community and the wider world, and become truly significant. Together we can make a difference.”

If you'd like to learn a bit more, you can visit the Transition US website: http://transitionus.org/why-transition/peak-oil