Oil Panic and the Global Crisis: Predictions and Myths

The future of oil and our dependence upon it is one of the most important issues of the twenty-first century. As oil prices have surged, two rival camps have emerged to forecast the pending oil crisis. One claims that depletion of oil and natural gas is imminent and will be followed by global chaos, while the other predicts that if we support technological innovation and trust the free markets, humanity will be spared.

In Oil Panic and the Global Crisis: Predictions and Myths award winning scholar Steven Gorelick navigates the arguments between the two camps and in doing so tackles some of the twenty-first century’s most important questions:

• Are we on the verge of running out of oil, or are Peak Oil predictions outdated? 
• What warnings do the oil shortage scares of the 20th century offer us today? 
• Why are there such extraordinarily different views on the future of oil?
• What is the role of environmental and economic issues in determining our future use of oil? 
• What lessons can be drawn from the production history of other non-renewable resources? 
• Will oil sands, coal, natural gas, and fuel alternatives provide solutions to our energy needs?
• How will the needs of developing nations, such as China and India, affect global consumption?

Until now, no book has addressed these questions by providing a coherent discussion of the two perspectives on the status and future of global oil resources. 

“Scientists and engineers have applied prediction methods that lead them to the conclusion that the depletion of global oil is nearing. The majority of audiences I have addressed on this topic support this notion, yet there are those with a very different perspective that presupposes plentiful oil whose production is limited merely by price and technology,” said the author