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'Peak Oil Is a Theory the Way Gravity Is a Theory,' ASPO-USA's Jim Baldauf Says During Interview on Energy Policy

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- E&ETV, the leading source for comprehensive, daily coverage of environmental, energy and policy markets, highlighted the peak oil crisis during an interview with Jim Baldauf, the co-founder and president of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO-USA). Baldauf discussed policy options for addressing a peak and ways to minimize the impact of a shrinking energy supply. He also emphasized that the debate over peak oil is over. "Peak oil is a theory the way gravity is a theory," Baldauf said.

"Peak oil is a finite resource," stated Baldauf. "Any finite resource has a beginning, a middle, and an end. We're not saying that we're out of oil. We're saying that we're about halfway out of it. There's still oil in the ground, but it's going to be more difficult, more costly to acquire from this point on," Baldauf said, adding that "we are already feeling the impact of peak oil." The recession has masked some of its effects, he said, but "even in the middle of this recession, oil is at $83 a barrel this morning. It was in 2005 that oil topped $50 barrel for the first time."

Baldauf also discussed his experiences as an oil man and witnessing the crisis first hand. "I happen to be an oilman in Texas in a very small way and I've seen peak oil play out under my own drill bit. We're having to drill twice as deep at twice the cost to get a third of the production."

Peak Oil will also impact military resources. The interview highlighted the The Joint Operating Environment 2010 Report released by the U.S. Joint Forces Command, which forecasts a worldwide oil peak by 2015, and observed that the effects "surely would reduce the prospects for growth in both the developing and developed worlds."

The U.S. military understands peak oil, Baldauf said. "The Army doesn't have an ideology to follow. They have a mission to move troops and tanks. They know the importance of liquid fuels."

ASPO-USA is bringing together many of the world's top energy experts to further discuss oil scarcity and strategies to mitigate the risks at their sixth annual Peak Oil Conference which began October 7 and will run through October 9th at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill.

About ASPO-USA

The Association for the Study of Peak Oil & GAS – USA is a non-profit, non-partisan research and public education initiative to address America's Peak Oil Energy Challenge. ASPO-USA encourages prudent energy management, constructive community transformation, and cooperative initiatives in an era of depleting petroleum resources. Prudent energy resource management must include conservation and efficiency, ecologically responsible energy production and consumption, and the development of lternative energy resources. For more information, please visit http://www.aspousa.org/ or contact Nicole Silverman at 202 683-3143 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 202 683-3143 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or nsilverman@qorvis.com"