Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - $100+ for a Barrel of Oil

Baraka_Guru · 03-15-2008, 10:42 PM

This should give you even more perspective:

We are now producing more oil than we're discovering. You can only discover so much oil before demand outstrips it. The discoveries that are now being made are in places that are difficult to extract from. The rate of discovery is very slow now, which only makes sense. The world is only so big.

These are just a couple of factors that would see the spike of oil prices.

Now imagine demand outstripping the production--the demand depleting the supply.....

Cheap oil (yes, cheap oil; the oil that fueled such popular American pastimes as muscle cars and SUVs--oh those lazy summer road trips...) was a dream from which we all had to wake up. Oil at less than $50/barrel was a dream. Oil being cheaper than water was a dream. Crude oil has hit a high of $0.70/litre, while some pay as much as $0.99 for a litre of bottled water (often more). And Americans complain of paying $0.85 a litre for gasoline at the pump. (It's a damned good thing you aren't fueling your cars with bottled water!)

Anyway, the prices you are seeing for oil are realistic. There is no failure of American policy here; it's mostly economics, industry, and consumption at play (not to mention some global geopolitics). It takes a lot of energy to move one person + several hundred pounds of metal, plastic, and rubber from point A to point B.

Maybe something else is amiss?

Get ready for $200/barrel oil. If we're lucky, it won't happen until after 2010. We shouldn't be working to suppress the price of oil; we should be working to suppress the use of it.

03-15-2008, 10:42 PM	#42 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	This should give you even more perspective: We are now producing more oil than we're discovering. You can only discover so much oil before demand outstrips it. The discoveries that are now being made are in places that are difficult to extract from. The rate of discovery is very slow now, which only makes sense. The world is only so big. These are just a couple of factors that would see the spike of oil prices. Now imagine demand outstripping the production--the demand depleting the supply..... Cheap oil (yes, cheap oil; the oil that fueled such popular American pastimes as muscle cars and SUVs--oh those lazy summer road trips...) was a dream from which we all had to wake up. Oil at less than $50/barrel was a dream. Oil being cheaper than water was a dream. Crude oil has hit a high of $0.70/litre, while some pay as much as $0.99 for a litre of bottled water (often more). And Americans complain of paying $0.85 a litre for gasoline at the pump. (It's a damned good thing you aren't fueling your cars with bottled water!) Anyway, the prices you are seeing for oil are realistic. There is no failure of American policy here; it's mostly economics, industry, and consumption at play (not to mention some global geopolitics). It takes a lot of energy to move one person + several hundred pounds of metal, plastic, and rubber from point A to point B. Maybe something else is amiss? Get ready for $200/barrel oil. If we're lucky, it won't happen until after 2010. We shouldn't be working to suppress the price of oil; we should be working to suppress the use of it. __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot Last edited by Baraka_Guru; 03-15-2008 at 11:10 PM..