James Wood abstract: 

Title: "The Looming Energy Crisis: Why, When and How the World is going to change"

World oil (liquid hydrocarbon supplies are showing signs of rapid depletion and it is likely that we will reach the peak in world oil production this decade (the US reached peak production in 1973), if we haven't already reached it. As the worlds largest importer of oil, the United States is very vulerable to shortfalls in world supply and cannot make up the difference domestically. Past production and discovery histories make it clear that we are near peak production worldwide and are well past peak discovery. The post-oil world is coming sooner than we can be prepared for it, though we had warning going back 30 years. This talk will discuss the world's hydrocarbon resources and history from a technical perspective and will attempt to paint a reasonably objective picture of the post-peak future.