Have you seen "A CRUDE AWAKENING"??? If not, please watch it... (generation, Canada)

[katzenfreund]

I just watched this movie, very enlightening and scary. Oil industry experts are painting a very scary picture about the exageration of oil reserves for political reasons, peak oil etc.
Netflix has it....

[MorningGlory]

Originally Posted by katzenfreund

I just watched this movie, very enlightening and scary. Oil industry experts are painting a very scary picture about the exageration of oil reserves for political reasons, peak oil etc.
Netflix has it....

Give us a synopsis, please. It sounds interesting.

[katzenfreund]

here is a link to the synopsis...

A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (2006) - Plot summary

[MorningGlory]

Well I will have to rent it, haven't seen it. Cant you tell us what it all boils down to, and save us the trouble?

[katzenfreund]

The oil experts are saying that we have hit the peak oil point and that no significant oil reserves are being discovered. It's a bit too complicated to explain in a few sentences. But the bottom line is that our lives will change in the next 20 years, as oil production slows and oil demand is going up, especially in China, India etc. It also talks about alternative energies and their limitations. I think the movie does a great job showing how dependent we are on oil, what consequences this has.... and even though I knew all of this, it was a well done movie that laid it all out nicely wrapped up in a movie.

[TXboomerang]

There are 3 camps in this argument. 1 is people who believe we have been lied to and have already passed peak oil production. 2 is people who believe peak oil production is correct. 3 is people who believe the peak is much further down the road than is being predicted and that the belief in an earlier peak is pushed so that oil companies can drive prices up even further on fear on running out, allowing them to make even more.

Honestly, I'm not sure who to believe.

I do know that as prices for oil increase, the feasability of new sources increases as the cost of recovery no longer outweighs the potential profitability. One of the key examples to this is the gulf of Mexico. The much deeper depths have been left alone for the most part because the astronomical cost of recovery. Once prices hit $150 a barrel, any depth in the gulf will not be to much to recover any reserve that can output at least 100million barrels. Even with prices at $90+ a barrel, there is talk of moving into some of the deeper depths as being profitable now.

Either way, alternative energy is a necessity. If our generation isn't faced with a crisis, the next or the next will be. Eventually it will peak and if the entire world remains largely dependant on oil, it will reck everything when it starts running out.

[katzenfreund]

After watching the movie, I think we are at peak oil now, but with our growing consumption and other countries just starting to consume....the party will be over soon.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by katzenfreund

After watching the movie, I think we are at peak oil now, but with our growing consumption and other countries just starting to consume....the party will be over soon.

The Germans during WW II devised coal gasification------God knows the USA and Canada have coal coming out of our collective backsides.

Evidently; crude oil prices have not gone high enough to warrant the above.

Something that many people forget is probably the biggest reason that SUV's etc. became so popular some years back was due to CAFE standards------which effectively killed off most V8 powered RWD passenger cars yet allowed 1/2 Ton trucks/SUV's with the same drivetrains to be sold.

My point being a 5,000 lb Chevy Suburban with a 350 V8 will deliver worse fuel economy than that identical engine/transmission combo in a 3,800 lb car.

[Yeledaf]

May I contribute one acronym to the discussion?

ANWR.

Now may I add a mispronunication?

Nook-yoo-lar.

There. I'm finished. Do go on.

[katzenfreund]

They did talk about coal in the movie and it's pro's and con's... the problem is that we use so much oil, not just for cars, but in food production, plastics etc. etc. that we have no single alternative source that can replace oil... especially with the rising demand worldwide. We need to take some drastic measures to lower our energy usage and invest in alternative energies sources to avert a major problem.

Anyway, I just wanted to recommend the movie... it is worth seeing.