Hubbert Curve

Hubba hubba...check out that Hubbert curve.

The Hubbert curve is a logistic distribution curve which predicts the production rate of a limited resource over time, including the beginning and ending of production. It's been getting more attention for its application to “peak oil,” which has gotten notice for the idea that oil use in the world may soon be on the decline.

The Hubbert curve isn’t just some theory. Rather, it’s predicted the depletion rate of other natural resources. The hard part is knowing when the “peak” is, which is the inflection point where the upward trend changes direction and starts going down. Hubbert himself guessed that peak oil would happen around 1970, but oil’s a tough one to estimate, since we don’t know exactly how much of it is left in the world to extract (and at what ease and cost). Hubba hubba is right.