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“Peak oil” is a term that has hardly reached into the mainstream media. Yet, a new leaked report by a German military think tank says world-changing peak oil may be this year.

To start off, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, here is a concise explanation of peak oil from Investopedia:

Because oil is a non-replenishing resource, there is a limit to how much the world can extract and refine. Peak oil is the day that oil production reaches a maximum and will subsequently begin to decline until full depletion is ultimately reached.

Why is Peak Oil a Big Deal?

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The reason peak oil is such a big deal, of course, is that society as it is built today relies on oil for many of its basic needs, as well as a great number of its non-essentials. Even though 71% of oil use is for transportation in the US, oil is also used in the production of fertilizers, shoes, some medicines, carpets and rugs, paint, detergent, canned food, makeup, nail polish, candles, lipstick, plastic, and more.

Oil is actually used, either directly or indirectly, in 95% of our industrial goods.

Governments generally avoid bringing this term up, probably because of the great threats we face from peak oil and the potential public backlash to curtailing our use of oil. This makes the simple existence of this German military think tank’s new report a bit shocking, even before you read the dramatic potential future the report paints.

Continue reading about the German military’s report on peak oil on the next page…