—Robert Hirsch, former oil executive and US government energy official
Peak oil “is the secret ticking time bomb under the global capitalist system”
—Bülent Gökay, International studies professor
“It’s not the size of the tank which matters, but the size of the tap.”
Dr. Jean-Marie Bourdaire, former director of both the International Energy Agency and the World Energy Council
“The Saudi Arabian liquor store is running out of bottles. Do we sober up, or do we find another liquor store, full of really crappy booze, to break into?”
Bill McKibben on the increasing use of tar sands and America’s addiction to oil
“Worldly wisdom teaches that it is better for reputation to fail conventionally than to succeed unconventionally.”
—economist John Maynard Keynes
“The public will be furious with governments: why didn’t you tell us about this and what are you doing about it?”
—Robert Hirsch, former US energy official and oil executive, speaking about “peak oil”
“There is a crying need for a central repository of professional non-politicized data and information.”
ecologist and energy expert Charles Hall
“We live in a society of consumption where growth is the Santa Claus who will cure all future problems.”
—Jean Laherrere, former head of exploration techniques for French oil company Total
“We have only two modes—complacency and panic.”
—James R. Schlesinger, the first US energy secretary, in 1977, on the country’s approach to energy
“Total energy use in the US has most likely peaked.”
—David Murphy and Charles Hall of SUNY Syracuse
