Sunday, August 21, 2005

The Truth About Oil

The Breaking Point - New York Times:
"''You look at the globe and ask, 'Where are the big increments?' and there's hardly anything but Saudi Arabia,'' he said. ''The kingdom and Ghawar field are not the problem. That misses the whole point. The problem is that you go from 79 million barrels a day in 2002 to 82.5 in 2003 to 84.5 in 2004. You're leaping by two million to three million a year, and if you have to cover declines, that's another four to five million.'' In other words, if demand and depletion patterns continue, every year the world will need to open enough fields or wells to pump an additional six to eight million barrels a day -- at least two million new barrels a day to meet the rising demand and at least four million to compensate for the declining production of existing fields. ''That's like a whole new Saudi Arabia every couple of years,'' Husseini said. ''It can't be done indefinitely. It's not sustainable.'' "


In other words. Do not count on the price of Gas to stop rising, but until we suffer a drastic rescesion.

There is no turning back on the clock for oil. We must prepare for a time of dastric economic adaptation as our dependence on oil begins to suffer the inevitable effects of its unsustainable abuse. Now one has to think twice before buying that SUV because it may be that before one is able to pay the loan running it may cost as much as running an airplane.

But you know what, that may not be as bad as it sounds. Getting out of our cars may actually increase the quality of our lives, as we begin to walk again pass our neighbours. We will see.

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