Civilization, as we know it, is coming to an end, according to Stephen Hren, a Durham “green builder” and organizer of N.C. Power Down, a group dedicated to raising awareness about Peak Oil.

“Peak Oil is a catch-all phrase that refers to the undisputed geological fact that at some point less oil will be able to be extracted than the year before, and that this decline will continue to occur until there is no oil left,” Hren said.

Hren’s assertion doesn’t go unsupported by notable organizations and publications. Life After the Oil Crash, a Web site concerning Peak Oil, continues to be a common voice of authority concerning peak oil, Orion English, a senior in civil engineering, said.

“I’ve been e-mailed links to Life After the Oil Crash several times by friends in the past couple months,” English said. “At first I thought it was spurious because it was so dramatic, but the Web site seems to be very well-grounded in scientific evidence. It’s pretty scary.”

Life After the Oil Crash claims that the world’s oil production works according to a bell curve — once the world’s oil production reaches a peak, it will begin to slowly decline.

“In practical and considerably oversimplified terms, this means that if 2000 was the year of global Peak Oil, worldwide oil production in the year 2020 will be the same as it was in 1980. However, the world’s population in 2020 will be both much larger (approximately twice) and much more industrialized (oil-dependent) than it was in 1980,” the Web site states. “Consequently, worldwide demand for oil will outpace worldwide production of oil by a significant margin. As a result, the price will skyrocket, oil-dependant economies will crumble and resource wars will explode.”

Director of the North Carolina State Energy Office Larry Shirley, acknowledges the problem of Peak Oil and said he wants to see a greater push toward renewable energy sources.

However, Shirley also agreed that it may be too late to completely avoid some of the drastic effects of Peak Oil.

“If you started really pushing renewable energies 10 years ahead, then you could soften the crisis, but if you wait until it happens — until it really happens, then you’re going to suffer shortages,” Shirley said. “You’re going to have problems.”

With a substantial amount of experts in agreement that Peak Oil is an issue that could strongly affect American life, some students wonder why the government has remained silent on the issue.

“Peak Oil seems like a real issue to me,” English said. “Why I haven’t heard the government say anything about it is beyond me.”

Life After the Oil Crash offers a warning to society as its Web site’s subline: “Deal with reality or reality will deal with you.”