Re: Storm Coming II

Department of Energy was concerned enough to commission a study on the issue. A report titled Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation and Risk Management, authored primarily by Robert L. Hirsch and produced by Science Applications International Corporation was released in February 2005.

The report's executive summary was direct and to the point. "The peaking of world oil production presents the U.S. and the world with an unprecedented risk management problem. As peaking is approached, liquid fuel prices and price volatility will increase dramatically, and without timely mitigation, the economic, social and political costs will be unprecedented. Viable mitigation options exist on both the supply and demand sides, but to have a substantial impact, they must be initiated more than a decade in advance of peaking."

Since we are already within the 10-year window and without mitigation, distribution of this report was withheld.