In last week’s column, The Case of the Missing Propane , I explained how the widespread use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of shale oil deposits since 2008 has led to a 30% increase in the production of crude petroleum in the United States. While that statistic makes for snappy headlines, it is not particularly meaningful to the overall world oil supply or the phenomenon known as Peak Oil. If you are not familiar with Peak Oil, I published a column in June of 2011 called Peak Oil in Five Paragraphs or Less . Here are the key points: • Peak Oil refers to the time at which we reach the global maximum rate of oil production, which is followed by decades of declining rates of production. • Due to oil’s pivotal role as a transportation fuel and (as I explained in Everything Comes […]