http://www.peakoilnyc.org/http://www.energybulletin.net/primer.phpWhat is Peak Oil?
Peak Oil is the simplest label for the problem of energy resource depletion, or more specifically, the peak in global oil production. Oil is a finite, non-renewable resource, one that has powered phenomenal economic and population growth over the last century and a half. The rate of oil 'production,' meaning extraction and refining (currently about 84 million barrels/day), has grown in most years over the last century, but once we go through the halfway point of all reserves, production becomes ever more likely to decline, hence 'peak'. Peak Oil means not 'running out of oil', but 'running out of cheap oil'. For societies leveraged on ever increasing amounts of cheap oil, the consequences may be dire. Without significant successful cultural reform, economic and social decline seems inevitable.
All fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) are finite - they represent stored chemical energy from decayed and transformed plant matter that formed millions of years ago. They are not renewable.
Similarly, nuclear energy is energy stored in the nuclei of heavy elements like thorium and uranium. Those elements were formed near the beginning of the solar system. Sources of nuclear energy are also finite and non-renewable.
Solar energy is effectively renewable. The sun shines - and the energy is there, whether we use it or not. Might as well use it, and preserve the finite resources for future generations.
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