Kuwait oil supply study predicts peak oil in ... in ... Ohmigod

If you really want to shake the world's economy in its petroleum-tarred boots, predict that the world's production of oil will peak in 2014.

That's what researchers in Kuwait did with an update of the Hubbert model.

"The scientists from Kuwait University and the Kuwait Oil Company adopted a newer approach by including many Hubbert production cycles, or bell-shaped curves showing the rise and fall of a non-recyclable resource. Earlier models typically assumed just one production cycle, despite the fact that most oil-producing nations have historically experienced more of a roller coaster ride in production."

The reverberations of this could be profound (and of course it will be examined closely). But if true, this means that alternate energy development has got to get on a much faster track -- or a global depression, highlighted by oil wars, could really be in our collective future.

And perhaps mark the beginning of the end of it.

Happy thoughts, happy thoughts...