7 Sep 2006
Radio 4 Addresses Peak Oil.
BBC Radio 4 has just begun what looks like it will be an excellent series, **Driven by Oil**, which explores peak oil, what it means and when it might be. The first one was called “When Will The Tap Run Dry?”, and in it, presenter Tom Mangold explored the biggest debate facing the oil industry today – will we run out of oil, and if so, when? It featured many names familiar to **Transition Culture** readers, including Kjell Alekett, Matt Simmons, and Dr Ali Samsam Bakhtiari, as well as some new ones, some from within the oil industry.
Although the programme included a broad spectrum of opinion, including those who says that peak oil is way off, the balance of the programme was definitely that peak oil is a real issue and one we need to be very concerned about. Bakhtiari closed the programme, saying “I believe that crude oil is the master domino. When you tumble crude oil, everything else is going to tumble, along with it, but I don’t think there is any solution unless mankind would suddenly turn to frugality”.
Part 2 is next Monday at 9am and will explore the dynamic with China and peak oil. You can listen to this week’s programme programme by going to Radio 4’s Listen Again page and clicking on Driven By Oil. Wonderful to finally have the subject taken seriously on mainstream radio, in such a well researched and understandable way, and to have it given the space it needs, a series of 4 programmes.