Trillions of barrels of oil....there is no oil shortage
http://www.financialsense.com/Expert...2005/0228.html
The price is high because the costs of getting at Middle east oil is so low discouraging investment in developing new sources that are slightly more difficult to retrieve. There are 100s of years worth of oil......at our current rate.
How long term are we talking about....
Get off oil altogether? that is very long term....nobody really feels the need. How much do they pay for fuel in europe....how high will the price be before they ween themselves from middle east oil?
Apparently the "powers that be" perceive the costs of pursuing the current policy is outweighed by any alternative and without convincing evidence of an economical replacement I doubt they ever will change.