Alachua County Energy conservation strategies commission: Peak Oil and Transportation Planning for 2035

1. Alachua County Energy conservation strategies commission: Peak Oil and Transportation Planning for 2035 Presentation to the MTPO February 14, 2008

2. US General Accountability Office • Crude Oil: Uncertainty about future oil supply makes it important to develop a strategy for addressing a peak and decline in oil production GAO-07-283: released February, 2007 Source: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07283.pdf

3. United States Oil Imports This chart depicts the sources of American oil imports. While the United States gets about 45% of its oil from the Middle East and North Africa, these regions hold over two thirds of the oil reserves worldwide.” Driving the Future of Energy Security http://lugar.senate.gov/energy/graphs/oilimport.html

4. US General Accountability Office Study • How long can world oil supply expand before reaching a maximum level of production -a peak- from which it can only decline? • U.S. economy depends heavily on oil, particularly in the transportation sector. • World oil production has been running at near capacity to meet demand, pushing prices upward.

5. US Consumption 20.59 MB/Day Net Imports US Production US Oil Production and ConsumptionOverview 1949-2006 Million Barrels per Day Energy Information Administration; Official Energy Statistics from the US Government http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pdf/pages/sec5_4.pdf

6. US General Accountability Office Study • Examined when oil production could peak; • Assessed the potential for transportation technologies to mitigate the consequences of a peak in oil production; • Examined federal agency efforts that could reduce uncertainty about the timing of a peak or mitigate the consequence; and • Reviewed studies, convened expert panel, and consulted agency officials.

7. US General Accountability OfficeReport’s Key Findings • Peak oil is real. • A decline in oil production, both conventional and unconventional, will occur within essentially one generation, likely sometime between now (February 2007) and 2040. • No one is sure when it will occur, because there is a wide variance in the data and methodology used by various research entities.

8. US General Accountability OfficeReport’s Key Findings • Without consistent government policy that acknowledges its (peak oil & decline) reality and plans for its eventuality, the United States, perhaps more than any other nation, will be the most seriously harmed economically. In commenting on a draft of the report, the Departments of Energy and the Interior generally agreed with the report and recommendations.

9. US General Accountability OfficeRecommendation “To better prepare for a peak in oil production, GAO recommends that the Secretary of Energy work with other agencies to establish a strategy to coordinate and prioritize federal agency efforts to reduce uncertainty about the likely timing of a peak and to advise Congress on how best to mitigate consequences.”

10. US General Accountability OfficeSelected Findings • The prospect of a peak in oil production presents problems of global proportion whose consequences will depend critically on our preparedness. • The consequences would be most dire if a peak occurred soon, without warning, and were followed by a sharp decline in oil production because alternative energy sources, particularly for transportation, are not yet available in large quantities.

11. US General Accountability OfficeSelected Findings • Such a peak would require sharp reductions in oil consumption, and the competition for increasingly scarce energy would drive up prices, possibly to unprecedented levels, causing severe economic damage.

12. US General Accountability OfficeSelected Findings • While these consequences would be felt globally, the United States, as the largest consumer of oil and one of the nations most heavily dependent on oil for transportation, may be especially vulnerable among the industrialized nations of the world. (p.38)

13. US General Accountability OfficeSelected Findings • Consequences of a peak and permanent decline in oil production could be even more prolonged and severe than those of past oil supply shocks. • Because the decline would be neither temporary nor reversible, the effects would continue until alternative transportation technologies to displace oil became available in sufficient quantities at comparable costs.

14. US General Accountability OfficeSelected Findings • Furthermore, because oil production could decline even more each year following a peak, the amount that would have to be replaced by alternatives could also increase year by year. (p.33-4).

15. US General Accountability OfficeSelected Findings • Development and widespread adoption of alternative transportation technologies will take time and effort. Key alternative technologies currently supply the equivalent of only about 1 percent of U.S. consumption of petroleum products, and DOE projects that even under optimistic scenarios, by 2015 these technologies could displace only the equivalent of 4 percent of projected U.S. annual consumption.

16. US General Accountability OfficeSelected Findings • Federal agencies currently have no coordinated or well-defined strategy either to reduce uncertainty about the timing of a peak or to mitigate its consequences. This lack of a strategy makes it difficult to gauge the appropriate level of effort or resources to commit to alternatives to oil and puts the nation unnecessarily at risk. (p.39)

17. Recommendation to MTPOAlachua County Energy Conservation Strategies Commission That the MTPO: “Move to direct MTPO staff to include in the consultant Scope of Services (for 2035 & future Transportation Plan updates) a requirement that peak oil production and decline variables be reviewed and tested so as to: (1), determine potential future transportation and land use scenarios necessary to mitigate local effects of peak oil production and decline; and (2), recommend alternatives to accomplish transportation and land use mitigation strategies.”