Peak Oil, Twinkies and the Scarcity Principle

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Episode 34

Welcome back Theoryologists! We are talking about the theory of Peak Oil.

The Peak Oil theory has a long history, that, while coined in 1950’s, is rooted in studies and predictions going back to the late 19th century, and in short proposes that oil, as a limited and exhaustible resource, will reach a point of peak discovery, production and availability at some point. In other words, we will eventually figure out where all of it is hiding within the Earth’s crust, and when there is no more new oil to be found, eventually the curve for the amount we are pumping out will take a turn as well and it follows that it’s all diminishing returns from that point onward.

We are going to explore it’s history, at least in brief, along with it’s impact on how we think of oil as a commodity. We can also look into contrasting viewpoints, and new priorities that may deserve better focus in modern day. At the end of the day, the goal is to have introduced you the real reason that the Peak Oil Theory had such an impact on the public imagination (and continues to even today). That of the Scarcity Principle. More pointedly, it seems like the scarcity principle results in outcomes for oil that you wouldn’t expect, nor would it benefit everyone using it as a marketing tactic for their particular issue.

Oh yeah, and to do all that, we are going to talk about Twinkies!