Is There a Scientific Field Dedicated to Energy Issues?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion highlights the growing consensus around the phenomenon of peak oil, with the International Energy Agency acknowledging that peak oil for conventional sources occurred in 2006. Recent Wikileaks revelations suggest that Saudi Arabia's oil reserves may be significantly overstated, further fueling concerns about global energy supplies. The conversation emphasizes that rising energy prices are linked to economic slowdowns, particularly since 2008, as energy is crucial for production and agricultural processes. There is a noted lack of clarity regarding the mechanisms that connect energy sources to economic impacts, prompting the suggestion for a more structured field of study focused on energy dynamics. This area, referred to as energy studies, is already being explored at institutions like Oxford, Cornell, and MIT, and is related to broader disciplines such as ecological economics and sustainable engineering. The need for a coherent framework to understand energy's role in the economy is underscored, along with references to key researchers and resources for further exploration of peak oil information.
cdux
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Currently there are clear indications that there is a strong case for a phenomenon of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil" .

1. The International Energy Egency, who was traditionally very conservative about it (and still is), recently admitted that it occurred in 2006 for conventional sources

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2010/11/101109-peak-oil-iea-world-energy-outlook/

2. The Wikileaks operation recently revealed that Saudi Arabia has much lower reserves than claimed

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/08/saudi-oil-reserves-overstated-wikileaks
These findings are pointing to clear indications that the global economy may be slowing down since 2008, precisely because energy - which produces goods, which helps produce goods, which helps transfer goods, which fertilizes the land, which helps cultivate the land etc. - is directly responsible for the crisis when its prices are too high.
However, there appears to be a general confusion on the processes that create such phenomena. There appear to be only vague references by physicists on conservation of energy, on needs to use energy to translate to "work", etc. but few details, and most importantly not a coherent structure of the framework that goes from energy sources to our pocket.

So, is there such a field? And if not, does it have to be established?
 
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It's called energy studies and is done at Oxford, Cornell, MIT, and probably lots more. Just Google it.
 
cdux said:
So, is there such a field? And if not, does it have to be established?

the limits to growth is at least a sub-discipline of many fields...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_economics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_engineering
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem_services

And for the energy equation in particular check out researchers like Charlie Hall...

http://www.esf.edu/efb/hall/

For peak oil information clearing houses...

http://www.theoildrum.com/
http://www.peakoil.net/
 
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