peak oil

Russia was once hailed as the most promising region for oil exploration outside the Middle East. Not anymore.

Production in the world's second largest oil-producing nation has peaked, the Financial Times reports.

The end of the fossil fuel era may end with a whimper, not a bang -- just with lines for gasoline that are too long. Consider these two pieces of unsettling data:

(1) The number of cars on the road globally will hit 1 billion by 2011.

(2) The world's oil will peak by 2015, according to the CEO of Shell.