ABSTRACT
Industrial society's use of fossil fuels began in the 1800s with the use of coal. Starting at the beginning of the twentieth century there was a shift to oil rather than coal, initially prompted by naval use of oil for military ships as it enabled longer range and reduced labour forces. There will always be debate about the amount of oil and gas resources left on the planet but there are two inescapable facts about oil and all other fossil fuels: there is a limited supply and if demand continues to increase, at some point demand will outstrip production. The best-known tool for predicting the remaining lifetime of fossil fuel reserves is the M. King Hubbert curve. The Hubbert curve has subsequently been applied to global oil supplies, and although still controversial, the idea of 'oil peaking' being a major problem in the short term is becoming widely accepted.
