The price of oil fell yesterday. In fact, it fell to a recent low after losing about 6% of its price in a single day.
A single day.
A new find? A long term commitment from OPEC to increase production? An announcement from Venezuela that it would end its gasoline subsidies in that country to ease demand and therefore apply downward pressure on prices?
Nope.
None of that. In fact, it was a simple single one day event.
Long before we get to the very last drop of oil, we;ll have identified another form of fuel for our society. It may be another form of fossil fuel, it may be solar or it may be wave. In any event, the idea that the work will run out of oil and the implication that our society will wither and fade away is ridiculous.
As people who make money on oil begin to realize that were close to running out of oil, they’ll raise the price of said oil. And when THAT happens, that new fuel will be found.
Fortunately, we may already have taken a step in that direction:
Sanford, N.C. — Geologists have wrapped up research on natural gas deposits in central North Carolina and are awaiting an assessment from the U.S. Geological Survey in July.
North Carolina Geological Survey chief Kenneth Taylor says his assessment shows that Lee, Chatham and Moore counties could produce enough natural gas to power the whole state for 40 years.
40 years.
Of power.
No oil.
What could prevent this awesome resource from being utilized?
Government:
But state law would have to change to allow horizontal drilling and a process known as fracturing that uses chemicals and water to force natural gas from shale.
Figures.
Posted in Energy, Government, Politics: North Carolina
Tagged Natural Gas, North Carolina Politics, Oil, Peak Oil, Politics
We’ve heard about it since we known about it. The idea that somehow, someway, the world is gonna run oughta oil.
And when we do, well, the end of the world as we know it will commence. The illustration to the right just shows a tip of the hysteria that folks are spreading.
End of oil? Beginning of anarchy.
And so they demand that we do something about it.
And we did.
Last week Mark Perry posted an interesting factoiod on solar energy on his blog Carpe Diem:
In the December 1974 issue of Popular Science Magazine, there was an article titled “Solar Cells: When Will You Plug Into Electricity from Sunshine?” that discussed the future of solar energy. The article predicted that by 1986 the cost per watt at peak power would be down to $0.30 ($0.60 in today’s dollars) based on projections from the National Science Foundation.
…
By 2007, solar prices were actually about $3.66 per watt (about six times higher than predicted), and were predicted in this 2008 article to fall to $2.14 per watt in 2010.
So, who woulda thought that oil would naturally seep into the ocean? 
Not me. Ever. For some reason I always thought that oil was deep underground and very hard to get at. Turns out that oil really does seep into the oceans naturally. And, by humans drilling for off shore oil we actually prevent much of that oil from entering the water.
Posted in Energy, Politics: International, Politics: National
Tagged BP, Environment, Oil, Oil Spill
The spill in the Gulf is horrible. 
The damage done to the coast, to the wildlife, to the people living there and the economy as a whole will be devastating. Generations of small business owners will have been impacted by this before it’s over. It may be decades before the local fisheries produce again; if they ever do.
The lives of those people living in New Orleans, just now recovering from Katrina, will be facing the headwinds of the loss of economic drivers for years.
It’s sad; jaw droppingly depressing.
Posted in Energy, Politics: International, Politics: National
Tagged Environment, Oil, Oil Spill
At some point, the results have to implicate the system. At some point, we have to push back from the table and see what it is that we have caused to occur.
Has the rhetoric of our elections brought about that things that we have promised? 
Or have we caused the exact opposite to occur? In our quest to provide food for the masses, have we, in fact, brought about the opposite? In an effort to set to work the poor, have we taken from them the opportunities that bring about job creation? In short, is what we are doing working?
Or, perhaps, as citizens, we have to step back and begin to wonder if it’s really the aim of the government to provide in the first place?
Posted in Economics, Economy, Liberty, Politics: International
Tagged Abuse of Power, Capitalism, Hugo Chavez, Leftist, Oil, Socialism, Venezuela
I don’t think there’s anyone alive who would dispute the damage that’s gonna be inflicted on the Gulf Coast. It really is gonna mess things up down there for quite some time. I remain convinced that the costs of drilling are no where near the benefits of drilling.
Posted in Economics, Energy, Politics: National
Tagged Environment, Health Care, Oil, Peak Oil, Politics, Solar
Leftists, all ya’ll…come over here. We have, in real time and in a real country, a case where a leader is trying to implement Socialism on his country. It started out all right. The people were very happy to hear that they would all get to go to the circus and have ice cream before bed. Longer summer vacations and shorter schools years too. The people were happy, the boss was givin’ away the joint and all the while claiming the “rich” would just pay for it. Balance it out, after all. It’s only fair ya know.
Not really working out for him now. But then again, he is inefficient and needs to bribe h is friends:
The state oil company, PDVSA, produced 3.2 million barrels per day in 1998, the year before Mr Chavez won the presidency. After a decade of rising corruption and inefficiency, daily output has now fallen to 2.4 million barrels, according to OPEC figures. About half of this oil is now delivered at a discount to Mr Chavez’s friends around Latin America. The 18 nations in his “Petrocaribe” club, founded in 2005, pay Venezuela only 30 per cent of the market price within 90 days, with rest in instalments spread over 25 years.
Not only has the company failed to keep up with technology and INCREASE its production, he has reduced it. And on top of that, he is robbing his country of the money that he COULD be making by asinine payment terms. But hey, the people are happy with this Socialism, right?
Tens of thousands of Venezuelans opposed to President Hugo Chavez took to the streets Saturday, blaming him for rolling blackouts, water rationing, widespread crime and other problems they say are making daily life increasingly difficult.
Ooops. Not so much.
Viva la Venezuela.