Out of gas: the end of the age of oil – David Goodstein

Date: Thu. August 26th, 2004, 4:30 pm-5:30 pm
Location: Schmitt Auditorium

The world will start to run out of cheap, conventionally produced oil soon, possibly within this decade. This talk will discuss the reasoning that leads to this conclusion and the likely consequences if it is correct. It may be possible, with considerable difficulty, to substitute other fossil fuels for the missing oil. Even then, we will ultimately run out of all fossil fuels, probably within this century. Can civilization survive if this happens? We will consider the possibilities.