The Energy Crisis we are facing today can be summarised as below… The world price of oil in US dollars has doubled in the last year (June 2007 to June 2008) from US$67/barrel to over US$135/barrel The world price has gone up by 6 times in 6 years, from US$20/barrel in 2002 to over US$135/barrel by mid 2008 With hindsight we can see that the great cheap oil era lasted 16 years from 1986 to 2002 when the price was mostly in the range $15 – 25/barrel, coming off a $39 peak during the “oil shock†of 1980 (equivalent to about US$95/barrel in 2008 money). The short sharp spike seen at the end of 1990 was due to the first Gulf War. Whats happening? Obvious questions raised by the price rises are: 1. What has caused the startling rise over the last 12 months? 2. Why has the price risen steadily for the past 6 years? 3. Why shouldn’t we get back to the $20/barrel we enjoyed in the 1990’s? 4. What caused the noticeable dip in price from mid 2006 to early 2007? 5. Why does the oil price seem to be going up at an accelerating rate since the dip in 2007? 6. Has the price stopped going up yet? 7. What prices might we expect over the next 1, 3 or even 5 years to come? Check Out http://anz.theoildrum.com/node/4260 for the full story…
Thanks, that was actually pretty informative. I knew a lot of the information presented but its still better then some of the post out here that are blaming bush for the price of oil rising
I am waiting for demand destruction to step in, but so far it seemed quite mild, really hope that demand destruction would be a key to lessening demand and hence the price of oil. It is rising beyond the reach of poor nations and can easily lead to instability in such countries.
The price of oil doubled over the last year and demand in the US is only down 4%. the price of oil will need to continue to rise to see any great effect of demand destruction because what is lost in the US is picked up in other parts of the world hence keeping prices high and increasing.
Our government needs to focus on stuff like plugin hybrids. They are in the here and now. We should have been focusing on this 20 years ago.
Even if there is demand destruction due to higher oil prices, and demand goes down, it won't affect prices that much. The moment it comes down, people will start buying again, and push it back up. If oil production keeps declining, we're all going to be in a BIG hole in a few years...
No, not the government. Its greedy capitalists (like you and me ) who should leap at this opportunity. This is a turning point in history. Anyone who can use this to their favour is going to be RICH (Think another Google)... We need more entrepreneurs and more investment in this field.
It is good to have high prices, it helped the alternative energy researches a lot. Previously with oil prices $10/barrel, alternative energy would have a hard time getting funds. I can imagine the funds alternative energy researchers are getting now. With the continued high prices, alternative energy will be extremely viable and hopefully, someone out there can come out with something.
Yes, alternative energy is the next big thing. We can hope something is found out soon. There is a group called The Orion Project, and these people are working very hard on secret Tech which was suppressed by large corporations and governments a long time ago
I think a lot of rising prices lately is for fear of war with Iran. And if that happens $145 will look cheap.
Iran fears the attacks by Israel, it is trying to make a statement through flexing of its military muscles that any damage will be collateral. I do hope that USA and Israel realized that attacking Iran won't be a one off affair. Blockage of the Strait of Homuz can be a real and achievable threat. Hopefully both sides back off and achieve a peaceful solution. If oil prices rise far beyond $145 I guess I will be walking or cycling around and lots of factories may be forced to close because of the prohibitive cost of energy.
I would say no, the main problem is the over reliance of oil in all aspects of the industries and a shallow view that do not take into account that oil is a finite resources. For too long we are discounting the future, enjoying the resources that should be reserve for our future generations. It is good that the oil crisis hits us and wake us up. Hopefully real and substantial moves towards less dependence on oil can be achieved. Time to get out of the shadow of huge oil companies and time to develop earth's infinite sources of energy.
Yup, back to steam. But is it sustainable? From an estimated 97,80,00,000 (978 million) in the 1800s to 6.5 billion today... Nope, can't do that.
This is the most beautiful post you have written. It's so refreshing to see people talking about citizens using opportunity and motive to solve the world's problems, instead of relying on a massive centralized state that can barely manage garbage collection or airport security. You have the right idea, just as so many capitalists had the right idea in the 19th century, which drove our standards of living way up. I think Korr made a point in one of these threads, that we will adapt. We have always adapted. Necessity is the mother of all invention.
This happens to me all of the time. We're having a discussion, and a relevant and timely article pops up. Big business shows politicians how the planet can be saved As governments haver over the best ways to tackle global warming, private enterprise is forging ahead - and making money Very inspiring, but not surprising, when you understand that government has no incentive to solve problems, but business does. Profit.
I never quite understood why so many people in a free market society look at the government to solve all the problems. The U.S. isn't a communist state. Private citizens are free to invest their money into whatever they want. So if someone really wants to do something about rising oil prices then they're free to do so. They can invest in alternative energy and build solar, electric or hydro powered vehicles. The government isn't going to stop them from doing so. All these rich celebrities that are doing nothing more than bashing Bush should stop being hypocrites and stop riding in these expensive private jets that use who knows how much unnecessary gas and invest their money into alternative energy companies. If they really want to see these problems fixed then they should start putting their money where their mouths are. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a Bush supporter, I'm just tired of the hypocrisy when it comes to these rich celebrities. They can do something about these problems and yet all they choose to do is bash the government. Again this isn't a communist state. The people have the power to fix these problems and a lot of the ones that can choose not to, instead wanting the government to fix everything.