Article of interest...

Something of interest: a short article about extreme energy. A summary: despite the ongoing recession, the price of oil is creeping back up, almost to pre-recession records. This begs the question, have we reached peak oil production? Is humanity currently extracting as much in the way of hydrocarbons as its ever going to extract. If we are not there we will shortly get there.

The input to output ratio of energy extraction is rising. It takes more energy put in to get less energy out (similar to the rise of constant to variable capital). This is because the oil fields easiest to tap have been run down. Oil companies are now looking at more remote, more inaccessible sources. The Deepwater Horizon disaster was especially catastrophic because of the difficulty in capping the well. If we continue to have a commodity economy based on fossil fuels our society will have to account for more disasters like these.

But, more significantly, if we continue to have a commodity economy based on fossil fuels, once peak oil production is passed, the price of oil will go up and will not stop. One of the key factors which broke the last boom, sending us into the current recession, was the price of oil. Without change, we face the prospect of permanent economic turmoil.