Warning: Oil supplies are running out fast

From The Independent:

But the first detailed assessment of more than 800 oil fields in the world, covering three quarters of global reserves, has found that most of the biggest fields have already peaked and that the rate of decline in oil production is now running at nearly twice the pace as calculated just two years ago. On top of this, there is a problem of chronic under-investment by oil-producing countries, a feature that is set to result in an "oil crunch" within the next five years which will jeopardise any hope of a recovery from the present global economic recession, he said.

The expert quoted is the chief economist of the International Energy Agency, so when he talks, I tend to believe him. If you read or heard about "Twilight in the Desert," by Matth Simmons, he essentially said the same thing about four years ago: The oil peak is coming, because new production cannot replace the insanely rich gushers which are now being tapped out. The remaining oil is deeper underwater, lower quality, harder to extract and harder to find. So there's no way to replace the oil which used to come flowing out of Arabian sands like water from a spring.

It ain't about when we run out. It's about when we can't squeeze it out fast enough.

And if we do burn it all, the planet's screwed, so why not make the change now?