Yetiv Addresses Global Oil Crisis in Recent Commentary

Steve Yetiv, professor of political science at Old Dominion University, wrote a commentary for the June 24 Virginian-Pilot, headlined "Calculating Peak Oil's Due Date," that contemplates what reaching "peak oil" will have on oil prices and global security.

Yetiv explains in the op-ed piece that "peak oil" refers to a key turning point when global oil production peaks, signaling a future of slowly decreasing world oil production. According to Yetiv, a growing number of oil industry executives believe peak global oil production will hit 100 million barrels per day. He notes that we are at 85 million barrels per day already.

Yetiv offers evidence that a number of agencies, including the International Energy Agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), are concerned that future global oil demand will outstrip oil supply.

Rising oil prices and a dwindling oil supply are not the only consequences of concern. Yetiv argues that fears about peak oil could also exacerbate tensions among the world's great powers, such as the United States and China.

The solution? "The United States clearly needs a far more serious energy plan, coordinated with the other major global powers," Yetiv says. "And such a plan must target transportation, where much global oil is used, while not wrecking the U.S. and global economy."

Yetiv is the award-winning author of "Crude Awakenings" (Cornell, 2004) and author of the recently published book, "The Absence of Grand Strategy: The United States in the Persian Gulf, 1972-2005," a provocative and panoramic view of American strategies in a region critical to the functioning of the entire global economy.

His Virginian-Pilot commentary can be read at http://epilot.hamptonroads.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VmlyZ2luaWFuUGlsb3QvMjAwOC8wNi8yNCNBcjAyNzAz&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom