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from.– Oil Crisis...is
the world about to be shocked
Scientist urges world to get serious
about oil crisis
National News New Zealand
The world's politicians should act decisively to help reduce the
wasteful use of oil, as a growing gap looms between demand and supply,
Swedish physicist Kjell Aleklett says.
Speaking yesterday at the trans-Tasman Solar 2005 energy conference
hosted by the University of Otago, Professor Aleklett of Upssala
University, Sweden, who is president of the Association for the Study of
Peak Oil and Gas, warned that big problems would result from the peaking
of world oil production .
A combination of declining supply from existing oil fields, and rising
global demand for oil meant there was already a potential shortfall of
about five billion barrels of oil a year.
Beyond 2008, a growing gap between supply and demand was likely to be
felt, he said.
Many nations faced a "democratic dilemma" over dwindling oil supplies.
What was now needed was for politicians to warn about potential
problems, and to advise that things might be even worse unless necessary
changes were made.
Improved telecommunications meant people could now communicate
electronically rather than always travelling to distant locations for
face-to-face meetings, he said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementWorking more collaboratively with other
nations would also be important in future, given that most of the
remaining large oil and gas resources were in Islamic countries.
Prof Aleklett will address a commission considering peak oil matters at
the US House of Representatives in Washington DC on December 7.
About 120 people - including Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons -
are attending the three-day solar energy conference, which ends today.
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