60 seconds of your life

The following is a quickly patched together animation of various Oil, Natural Gas, Hard Coal and Nuclear Energy resource peaks as compiled by LBST (GER).

Click to see the full image size with animation

It compares the total combined energy peaks with IEA World Energy Outlook (2006) reference case for energy needed to carry on the world economic growth (at c. 2% / year).

Even if one does not believe in the exact numbers for oil, gas, coal and uranium respectively, the same principle applies - the peak is just pushed forward into the future.

So a series of questions arise: Where does future energy come from? To which energy forms will we transition into? What will the effects of this transition be, esp. for the climate and environment in general?

And the more painful question: can we have steady annual average 2% economic growth with accompanied energy consumption growth?

We conclude with a quote from Harvard physicist, Albert A. Bartlett, Ph.D.:

"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." - Albert A. Bartlett

While the inability seems to be real (innately, overcome through learning), it remains for you to decide whether it really is a shortcoming or not.