He said experts estimate there are about one trillion barrels of oil in the world today. Those are being used up at a rate of about 30 or 31 billion per year, and rising. At that speed, the reserves will dry up in about 65 years unless additional reserves are discovered, Marsden says.
He predicts the approach of a transition period, where the world will shift towards using new types of fuel as global supplies begin to run out.
To prepare for that, Marsden suggests Canada needs to begin stockpiling fuel in order to guarantee a successful transition through that period. At the moment, however, that isn't happening.
"We've basically given it over to private industry, most of which is foreign, so the vast majority of the profits are going to private industry," Marsden said.
"So we won't even have the kind of treasury that we will need as we enter into this new age to smooth over this transition."
He said Canadians don't seem to realize how dire the situation really is and many believe there is no reason to question the status quo.
"It's almost sort of the politics of our age where we continue to think that it's business as usual," Marsden said.
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[Proofreader’s note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on October 10, 2007]
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Dave Ruston