Peak Oil is here to stay and will have consequences on oil prices in Northern Ireland. The theory of Peak Oil dates back to 1956 with studies conducted by M. King Hubbert. He predicted that since petroleum is a finite resource and not renewable, the world will eventually run out of it. His theory has come true regarding petroleum rates. That region will be affected particularly hard by peak oil. The reason is simple. The UK is running out of its own domestic deposits. The UK is one of the few Western countries which had the luxury of having a domestic petroleum source. This had generally positive affects for oil prices Northern Ireland. Unlike most of Europe which has had to depend on the importation of petroleum, the UK had vast deposits of off its coast in the North Sea. The result was that rates were lower than in the Irish Republic which had to import its petroleum.

The price of petroleum for other countries was always higher than in Northern Ireland, as they had to import mostly from Middle East countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Kuwait. To compound the high cost of the importing, barrels of petroleum are denominated in US dollars. That means that countries had to convert their currencies to US dollars in order to purchase it. The result was that fuel costs were higher on continental Europe than in the United Kingdom.

The reason rates in the region were lower than other parts of Europe was that the United Kingdom did not need to import it. That meant that the UK did not have to convert Pounds into dollars to pay for it. The only costs in the United Kingdom involved the extraction, refinement and transport of oil. Over the past year, peak oil has come to the United Kingdom. The deposits off the coast of the United Kingdom in the North Sea are nearly depleted. Due to its vast deposits, the United Kingdom was able to export its surplus petroleum. Thanks to this, the UK is now a net petroleum importer. This is the reason why prices are rising. Importing petroleum costs much more than having a domestic supply of petroleum.

Peak oil will not only affect oil prices Northern Ireland in but globally as well. The world is running out of petroleum. Saudi Arabia’s vast oil deposits are emptying out at an alarming rate. This will only increase the cost of barrels. This is what lies behind the United Kingdom’s participation in the wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. The United Kingdom is engaging in military operations in order to keep the cost of petroleum under control. In the long term, no amount of military expeditions will be able to dwindling amounts of petroleum.

15 years ago, hardly anyone in Ireland knew what Vintage clothing was, never mind where to get it. The popularity of Vintage clothing has really taken off in the last few years thanks to shows like Mad Men and also due to the trendy celebs who prefer to wear vintage, such as Kate Moss, Nicole Richie and Alexa Chung. The vintage fashion scene has taken off so much, that now the high street stores such as Primark, Topshop, and Miss Selfridge regularly feature ‘vintage style’ dresses in every collection. Well, not everyone wants to own a high street knock off of a vintage style dress and luckily with Ireland finally following on the trend we finally have many more options to shop actual vintage.

Dublin is probably the first place people look to when they want to shop vintage and well why not? Dublin 2 is definitely the place to head for as most of the vintage stores are located in that area, keep a look out for Harlequin, Wild Child and Dirty Fabulous. Galway is probably your next best bet as in the last year a few new vintage shops have popped up, giving you some excellent choice in vintage, depending on the style you want to shop for. Galway city Center is easily navigated and with all the stores in the city center you wont be long finding them. Look out for Public Romance for some of the best 70′ and 80′s, Zebra for some eclectic pieces and Enchanted Vintage for the more classic vintage pieces.

Sligo is also the home for the original Enchanted Vintage location and with 3 different floors, the variety of vintage wedding dresses, gowns, coats and everything else you can think of will impress any vintage enthusiast!! Even Ennis in county Clare, has recently open up a boutique featuring new and vintage clothing called Olive Vintage. If you are not fortunate to live near any of these locations, never fear a few of them have websites that you can shop! However, if you are a true vintage lover and want a chance to see and feel the clothing before you buy it, then I highly recommend taking a trip to Galway or Dublin for the very best shopping experience.