Baltimore, MD--Whether or not you believe peak oil is about to (or already has) occurred, our world is growing astronomically. But will the world continue to grow if oil exits the main energy stage within the next two decades?

If you happened to be blessed with good weather yesterday, I'd bet the farm you don't live anywhere close to me.

Despite gloomy forecasts, my family and friends still got together to enjoy a relaxing day away from our daily work routines.

Even though most of the celebration was indoors, it was still a lot of fun to fire up the grill and watch my friend ignite a multitude of fireworks (thankfully, he did it outdoors). Because that's what we all look forward to on Independence day, right? Barbeque and explosions.

The weather eventually soured and turned into a heavy thunderstorm. Unlike past years, however, the majority of people had to work the next day, which should have eliminated the idea of driving out to see a fireworks show. But though I had to work too, it wouldn't have been fair to the younger kids. Let's face it, they appreciate explosions just as much as I do.

Oddly enough, it was only my niece who was anxious to see the fireworks. What kind of uncle would I be if I said no?

As soon as the weather eased a bit, we made a break for my car. After nearly twenty minutes in traffic and another twenty sloshing through puddles, we finally picked out a good spot.

The bad weather had not dampened everyone's festive mood, and my niece excitedly tugged at my sleeve, pointing out the band off to our right that was playing underneath a small tent. I had to give them credit, they didn't give in to horrible weather.

But it wasn't the fireworks showering the sky that I was paying attention to. Rather, I found myself stunned by the huge number of cars that were jammed around the area. And I got an overwhelming feeling that this was a small glimpse into our future.

Our Unavoidable Energy Crisis

I agree with the Energy Information Agency that has reported "the demand for petroleum and other liquid fuels is expected to increase more rapidly in the transportation sector than in any of the other end-use sectors."

However, I think they're sorely underestimating the growth we'll experience.

Right now, there are roughly 700 million cars in the world. By 2030, that number is expected to nearly double to over 1.2 billion!

That means we're going to need a staggering amount of oil just in the transportation sector. The question I ask myself over and over is: If we're struggling with demand now, how can we possibly expect to meet it in the future?

Take a look around.

Our oil discoveries peaked more than forty years ago. If we look at the size of the discoveries since, they are getting much smaller.

My readers are well aware of the condition of the world's existing oil fields. The North Sea, for example, was expected to produce three million barrels a day in 2010. This prediction has been lowered to 2.6 million barrels a day.

Last year over twenty billion dollars were invested in the North Sea with the hopes of boosting production. But as it turned out, production declined over 9%. More than half of that investment was used to keep current fields operating.

In Mexico, production at the famous Cantarell field dropped more than 17% during the first half of 2007 compared to the previous year. Future production for Mexico is a nightmare.

Believe me, we shouldn't be surprised that oil prices are so high. WTI broke $72 a barrel this week. But if that scares you, don't look at Brent prices, which have soared over $75 a barrel.

Today, we received a round of good news from the EIA's weekly report. Crude oil inventories are higher. Even refineries gave us a sense of relief because they're operating at 90%, up more than 0.6%. So we can expect oil prices to plummet, right?

Actually, the opposite happened. The last time I checked, oil was sitting comfortably at $71.87 a barrel. We can see how tight the global oil supply really is.

And if there's one thing my readers know, it is how to benefit from the oil markets. I just found out that one of our stocks jumped 25% in one day! Don't worry, though, they're not even close to finished. You can find out more here.

Back to the Fireworks

Everyone knows they save the best explosions for last. But somebody should have told the weather that, because as the night wore on, the rain only got worse. Once the thunder started booming, we dashed once again for my car.

Looking in my rearview mirror as I slowly chugged along with the heavy traffic, I smiled. Despite the torrential downpour making the crowd scatter, the band kept playing.

Until next time,

Keith Kohl