New Edition of ‘The Oil Age’ Poster Released

San Francisco, Calif. (PRWEB) June 9, 2006

SF Informatics today announced the release of a new edition of its popular poster, The Oil Age, featuring the latest forecasts of peak oil -- the all-time maximum of world petroleum production -- and new data on coal and natural gas supplies. With prices at the pump surging to record highs and unrest in oil-producing regions threatening to squeeze crude supplies, the poster offers students, educators and journalists a clear and comprehensive view of the global energy dilemma.

“We’re ecstatic about this new peer-reviewed edition,” said Richard Katz, spokesman for SF Informatics (SFI), the California-based group that has produced the poster in association with Global Public Media. “It’s loaded with the most recent oil-production estimates, thought-provoking new insights into coal and natural gas, and a wealth of historical annotations that will help citizens and decision-makers understand the volatile post-peak era we’re about to enter.”

Reviewers of the new poster included Chris Skrebowski, editor of Petroleum Review, board member of the London-based Oil Depletion Analysis Centre (ODAC). “I’ve taken a close look at the chart and find that it encapsulates all you need to know in one, visually dramatic, place. It is a superb production,” he said.

Skrebowski’s estimate of the peak date is displayed in the new edition, along with those of oil geologist Colin Campbell, investment banker Matt Simmons, Princeton professor Kenneth Deffeyes, Iranian oil executive A.M.S. Bakhitari, Caltech vice-provost David Goodstein, Cambridge Energy Research Associates, Shell Oil, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Estimated dates range from the year 2005 to after 2020.

In a new section, the poster explores the challenges of turning to coal and natural gas to offset diminishing oil flows, and displays sobering new projections from geophysicist Jean Laherrere. Reviewer Julian Darley, author of High Noon for Natural Gas, says the poster will inform the growing debate around the lightest of the fossil fuels. “Natural gas may turn out to be the weakest link in North America’s -- and even the world's -- energy infrastructure,” he said.

First released last summer, the colorful, data-rich chart has become a popular tool for spreading awareness of the imminent oil peak. To date, more than 2,000 posters have been donated to teachers worldwide, and with the help of Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, the poster has been distributed to every member of Congress. Citizens groups in San Francisco recently used the poster to help persuade city lawmakers to pass the nation’s first major municipal peak oil resolution (http://www.oilposter.org/res.pdf)

Copies of The Oil Age poster can be purchased at http://www.oilposter.org. For more information about the Oil Depletion Analysis Centre (ODAC): http://www.odac-info.org

*Peak oil date estimates come from communications with the principals and from the report “Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation & Risk Management,” by Robert Hirsch, Roger Bezdek and Robert Wendling, SAIC, Feb. 2005.

About SF Informatics:

SF Informatics represents a group of concerned citizens committed to researching and communicating critical ecological and societal trends worldwide. Poster ordering or donation information: http://www.oilposter.org.

About Global Public Media:

Global Public Media, a non-profit subsidiary of MetaFoundation, develops and disseminates in-depth interviews and media programs in response to the world’s pressing issues. For more information: http://www.globalpublicmedia.com.

###