32 years of oil left
This entry was posted on 10/5/2008 10:44 PM and is filed under Gasoline,Global Peak Oil,Economy.
Gasoline prices are down, now what?
Many have stopped doing the things they were doing when gasoline was 50-75 cents/gallon higher. You can be sure, that prices will go back up. Why? Peak oil. My wish is that we had the foresight and leadership to recognize that a revenue-neutral tax shift would keep non-renewable prices high and provide a real incentive for all of us to conserve. We'd also provide an incentive for businesses to create renewable energy systems.
Peak oil
Give or take a few years, most agree we'll reach the peak in five to ten years; some say we already have. Here's an article from last month on CommodityOnline.com - it ain't pretty. Peak Oil: America uses 21 million barrels per day Excerpts:
The peak comes when daily output can no longer be expanded and begins to shrink inexorably, year after year. Best estimates are that the world started with two trillion barrels in the earth. Best estimates are that one trillion remain.
For perspective, the world today uses 85 million barrels per day. That is 31 billion barrels per year. At that rate, the one trillion barrels of estimated reserves would last 32 years until it was all gone. But that is not the issue. The problems start when daily production cannot meet daily demand.
Some will argue that it's really 60 years or 25 years; they're missing the point. Either way, if we don't significantly curtail our oil use NOW, "we are dead meat" (to quote David Letterman). From above, "The problems start when daily production cannot meet daily demand."
The sad part is that we know what the answers are: conservation and developing renewable sources of energy. What are we really doing about it? Who's leading? Let's turn "Big Oil" into "Big Energy" with a phased-in, federal tax shift from income to non-renewable energy.
We have such inertia to use huge amounts of fossil fuels; we need to continue turning this enormous ship around and price is the way to do it. --> without paying more taxes (via a federal tax shift).
