Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Michaelangelica
The truth is we have probably run out of oil and no one wants to tell us.
|
That depends on what the meaning of "run out" is. The best description I've ever heard to try to get the point across is that its like eating a bowl of cereal with a fork: it gets harder and harder to get the stuff out of the bottom of the bowl, but there's still lots there.
The main issue is what is called
Peak Oil. Malthusians of every stripe are always predicting the "end of the world," but like the cereal in the bowl, you can get it, you just may have to work harder. You may also find another box of cereal to refill the bowl. While most experts do not *expect* there to be huge Saudi-size deposits left to be found, there's probably more than will be necessary for most of us to die before the internal combustion engine disappears. There are also some very unusual sources of non-petroleum fossil fuels lying around like
methane hydrates found on the ocean floor.
Of course we have a whole thread on the tar fields in places like Canada which are traditional crude oil, albeit in a form that is only worthwhile when the price of crude rises above $40/bbl (and less over time as the investment in learning how to exploit it is amortized), and there's an unbelievable amount of this stuff.
So B is right: there's not really a good excuse for the crazy price of gas.
All I can say is that the really smart money is moving from oil to
tulips.
Modern Popular Delusions,
Buffy
