Oil (and the media)

[Funkaloyd]

The price of oil has risen to over $50 per barrel (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Business/ap20040928_445.html), and though peak oil theorists have been predicting this for years, the mainstream media (with the help of experts (http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Industry-friendly_experts)) has been sure to blame the rise on temporary issues—terrorism in the Middle East, socialists in South America, growth in China and the US, Hurricanes in the Caribbean, etc. I haven't heard of any mainstream news outlets report on the possibility of the situation getting continually worse from now on due to a poor supply/demand ratio. Too gloomy us consumers? How long can we keep our heads in the sand?

[spacemonkey]

that's terrible fossil fuels are not the way to go we need to move onto using the alternate energy sources but alas the big corporations will not implement.





I'm slow and rarely post in political threads. I just saw the title and clicked. I thought I'd speak my mind on the matter then another thought occured to me. If I sound intelligent enough to say just that then I'd reveal my original reaction to the thread title. I thought this thread would be it about painting (oil) and media (mixed sorts). But in no way feeling let down by posting here cus the actual subject at hand is way too out of hand. The price of oil that is wack. We do need to take the power back, get Bush out of office.

[ASsman]

We are all fucked.

[wallstredneck]

I wouldn't say most of those issues you raised are "temporary" - terrorism, China, communists in SA, etc. However, you can go buy a barrel of oil for delivery in 2009 for $35 a barrel (admittedly up from $25 a year ago). That price takes into account all of the issues you raised.
On top of that, you can float a ship full of oil around the ocean for a few months for virtually nothing and hope the price goes up since interest rates are so low. I'm not saying we won't go to $60 a barrel, but by next year at this time it will be less than $40 a barrel one way or another. Elmer Fudd Greenspan should fix part of the problem by raising interest rates.
Finally, you can turn Canadian sand into oil for $25 a barrel. If we're really going to stay at this high oil price, somebody is going to start doing that and drive the price back down.
This IS temporary. This is not as bad as the Kerry communists and media would have you believe. This will be the second time out of 11 that oil has gotten above $40 a barrel and we have not had a recession.

P.S. Paul is an idiot.

[jabumbo]

the actual price per barrel isnt the problem...

the fact that production is down something like 15% and demand is always going up due to those gas guzzling machines we call SUV's. the only reason the price will go down is because the president wants people to think that is is his doing, but the only way that should happen is if he barters away more of our dignity and foreign policy to get them to lower the prices and up production again

[Funkaloyd]

The price most likely is temporary, but with demand at roughly 81 million barrels a day, and supply at roughly 82 million, there's a very real possibility that prices won't go down for more than a few months. With increase in demand continually exceeding new discoveries (and Canadian shale oil is considerably more expensive than traditional reserves), it should be clear that eventually we'll have to live with prices permanently above 50$ per barrel, and ever increasing. Yet it isn't.

I wouldn't say most of those issues you raised are "temporary" - terrorism, China, communists in SA, etc.

True, though a lot of people seem to think that everybody in Iraq will be holding hands after elections, and that China's growth will halt very soon (though I don't know enough about its situation to say that it won't).

[BGirl]

The price of oil has risen to over $50 per barrel (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Business/ap20040928_445.html), and though peak oil theorists have been predicting this for years, the mainstream media (with the help of experts (http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Industry-friendly_experts)) has been sure to blame the rise on temporary issues—terrorism in the Middle East, socialists in South America, growth in China and the US, Hurricanes in the Caribbean, etc. I haven't heard of any mainstream news outlets report on the possibility of the situation getting continually worse from now on due to a poor supply/demand ratio. Too gloomy us consumers? How long can we keep our heads in the sand?

Have you seen this site?

Life After the Oil Crash (http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/Introduction.html)

Deeply depressing and scary...

You're welcome! :o

[EN[i]GMA]

I've seen them all. Don't get worried. If you believe everything thats on the internet your in trouble. Case in point: www.johntitor.com

[BGirl]

There's a big difference between time travel and peak oil. Peak oil is geological reality. Just think about it, what happens when the global population keeps increasing exponentially but oil reserves are limited?

Our whole modern civilization has been built around oil being so cheap it's basically free. Those days are ending and most people have no clue.

Like the author of that site says, when Bush's chief energy advisor (Matthew Simmons) and Michael Moore are in agreement, we're in trouble.

Some more requisite reading on the topic:

The Oil We Eat (http://www.harpers.org/TheOilWeEat.html)

[Whois]

Biodiesel (y)

[EN[i]GMA]

I'm just saying the site is a little over the top. True, peak oil is something that will happen but it's not going to sneak up on us. The entire world dieing off is bad for the oil companies business.

[BGirl]

The thing is, to make the biodiesel takes oil. (See The Oil We Eat, link above.)

My feeling is that we basically need to use all the cheap oil that is left to convert to new energy sources ASAP, for instance, solar and wind (once the solar panels and windmills are made the energy is renewable, but again, you need oil to make the solar panels and windmills), but I just don't see it happening as quickly as it needs to happen.

Oh, this is such a grim topic. But it needs to be discussed.

[Ali]

Why is it so hard to buy a Prius (http://nerve.fugacious.net/drf/archives/000729.html) in the US?

[BGirl]

GMA']I'm just saying the site is a little over the top. True, peak oil is something that will happen but it's not going to sneak up on us.

I like to think the situation isn't quite as grim as he makes it out to be, but the evidence is pretty damning. Oil production has been on the decline and some of the experts think we just passed the peak.


GMA'] The entire world dieing off is bad for the oil companies business.

It's not something the oil companies can control.

Once you learn about peak oil you start to notice related items in the news. For instance, the day after someone pointed me to that site, Shell admitted they had been overstating their reserves.

[Whois]

The thing is, to make the biodiesel takes oil. (See The Oil We Eat, link above.)

My feeling is that we basically need to use all the cheap oil that is left to convert to new energy sources ASAP, for instance, solar and wind (once the solar panels and windmills are made the energy is renewable, but again, you need oil to make the solar panels and windmills), but I just don't see it happening as quickly as it needs to happen.

Oh, this is such a grim topic. But it needs to be discussed.

The article doesn't mention biodiesel, it talks about fuel alcohol. Biodiesel does take energy to create, but it can use waste product to create fuel.

[Whois]

Why is it so hard to buy a Prius (http://nerve.fugacious.net/drf/archives/000729.html) in the US?

High demand...go figure.

We're getting a hybrid for our next car, which one will depend on how the auto industry responds to the demand.

[BGirl]

The article doesn't mention biodiesel, it talks about fuel alcohol. Biodiesel does take energy to create, but it can use waste product to create fuel.

The general concept applies though, don't you think?

I learned about thermal depolymerization (sp??) and thought that sounded like the solution, but like everything else, Mr. Doomsday shoots it down on his site. I think his point is not necessarily that we're doomed, but that we probably are if we don't address this issue immediately. I do believe that we could probably invent our way out of the problem, but this Bush administration has me so pessimistic about where we are as a society. Well, pessimistic isn't necessarily the right word. I'm optimistic Kerry will boot Bush in November, but Kerry is so far from my ideal prez. I'm a Kucinich gal... he's the one who could really get us out of this mess we're in (on all fronts).

Good luck with the Prius, we'd get one too if we were in the market for a new car. Maybe someday... a hybrid Mini Cooper?? (y)

[Whois]

The general concept applies though, don't you think?


It depends on the energy input vs energy output ratio...


I learned about thermal depolymerization (sp??) and thought that sounded like the solution, but like everything else, Mr. Doomsday shoots it down on his site. I think his point is not necessarily that we're doomed, but that we probably are if we don't address this issue immediately. I do believe that we could probably invent our way out of the problem, but this Bush administration has me so pessimistic about where we are as a society. Well, pessimistic isn't necessarily the right word. I'm optimistic Kerry will boot Bush in November, but Kerry is so far from my ideal prez. I'm a Kucinich gal... he's the one who could really get us out of this mess we're in (on all fronts).

Good luck with the Prius, we'd get one too if we were in the market for a new car. Maybe someday... a hybrid Mini Cooper?? (y)

Too small for me (height), I can barely fit in the Prius...

[ASsman]

But hybrid cars are un-american. Also most car companies obviously don't care, they will make more money selling gas powered cars, then when there is little left charge outrages amount for hybrids. Manufacturers lose money when introducing new products and manufacturing techniques (atleast during the early stages).