by Shepherd Bliss

I live under what may be the most active volcano in the world -- Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawai’i. While watching lava cascade down its mountain peak, I consider the predicted peak in world oil production and the damage it could do. Its destruction could be far worse on human communities than that of a mighty volcano’s eruption, impacting not only a local area but civilization itself. We live today under the volcanic threat of peak oil, yet most people remain in denial about the potential dangers. According to geologists -- experts in volcanoes and oil -- slowly flowing crises face humanity as our supply of non-renewable fossil fuels dwindles. Few admit how disastrous peak oil could be. People gather at Kilauea’s base to enjoy lava fountains, seething lakes of molten rock, and incandescent rivers of slowly flowing lava. Yet my college students and friends often scatter when I talk about the consequences of peak oil, unable to consider the magnitude of the end of the oil age. Watching red-hot lava come down the peak, especially at twilight, and into the thirsty turquoise sea is awesome. Blazing fire meets receptive water and produces steam, as the heat is absorbed and cooled. It’s all natural. The deadly consequences of peak oil will be human-made...

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/June05/Bliss0624.htm