[OKC] Out of Gas

[Donald E. Winslow]

I just finished reading David Goodstein's book, Out of Gas: The End of the Age of Oil (W.W. Norton & Co., New York, Copyright 2004, ISBN 0-393-32647-0 pbk, 148 pp). This concise and easy-to-read volume makes its main point in the first two chapters—that a permanent global energy crisis will occur when about half of the world's oil reserves are depleted. That might be now. The rest of the book is devoted to explaining basic physical principles in simple language to allow the non-scientist to understand such phenomena as the internal combustion engine, various alternative energy technologies, the limitations of  the first and second laws of thermodynamics, electricity, electromagnetic radiation, and global warming. Goodstein concludes that a concerted effort to find alternative fuels for the short term may allow civilization to persist long enough to develop an economy based on nuclear power, used to charge hydrogen or advanced electric cells. There would be large drawbacks to such a plan, and perhaps this author fails to consider adequately the potential of wind energy.  However, it may be that American lifestyles could not be replicated in every nation under a wind economy. With China and India now rivaling the American level of consumption (nationally, not yet per capita), our planet faces serious limitations. Goodstein advocates switching from petroleum sooner rather than later for three reasons: the insecurity of dependence on Middle Eastern oil, damage to the climate resulting from carbon dioxide and methane emissions, and the need to make sure we have enough time to develop new infrastructure and technology. He also points out that fossil fuels have many other permanent uses, and it is foolish to burn a resource that cannot be replaced during human lifetimes. This book is important for anyone who does not understand the issue of peak oil to read. It is also useful as an introduction to physics for the layperson. There are other recent books with the same theme, this one has the advantage of brevity. I would be interested for readers who have read similar books to share their reflections.	Donald Edward Winslow, 9 July 2006