TiredNGrouchy
New member
Regardless of whether the current high price of oil is due to speculators, I believe the days of cheap energy are over. This has a lot of implications for the USA, as much of what we've become depends on cheap energy, such as:
1) Huge sprawling metroplexes where you drive 30+ miles to work every day (Dallas for example)
2) Living far away from where food is produced
3) Living in areas with hot summers which require huge amounts of electricity for A/C (Florida, Texas, Desert Southwest)
4) 3000+ square foot homes, and 12mpg SUVs with single occupants
There is something called "peak oil" which is the point in time where oil production peaks because we've gotten all of the oil out of the ground that's cheap and easy to get, and from that point on it just get progressively more and more expensive because what's left in the ground is harder and costlier to recover. I've not seen anyone credible refute the peak oil concept, but there is a lot of controversy over when it will happen (some say it already has occurred, others say it won't happen for 40+ years), and there is also disagreement on what the production curve looks like - does it plateau and stay relatively constant for many years, or does it go on a steep decline.
The future is difficult to predict, since as the price of oil increases, sources which were economically unfeasible become viable, such as oil from tar sands or shale, which we have a lot of in North America. Your kids will only be able to see polar bears in pictures and in zoos if we tap that resource.
In any case, I'm expecting to see gasoline at $6/gal at some point in 2009 (not exactly going out o a limb there), but I think that somewhere around $7-8 will be so high that demand drops off enough to stop any further increases, plus the economy will be in the toilet so people just won't have the money to spend on fuel. Lots of really ugly social implications there, better surround your home with barbed wire and have plenty of firearms and ammo available.
The rest of the world isn't seeing as large percentage increases as us, first because of their high taxes, but also because their currencies have increased against the dollar, and oil prices are quoted in dollars.
We bought two Priuses in 2004 and sold one to buy a new Camry hybrid a few months ago (42mpg highway, very nice). We've got three trucks too, but they only get driven when needed, so two of them basically only get driven to charge the battery and circulate the oil, and the one that actually is used is only driven 200-300 miles per month. Gas going from $2.50 to $5 only increased my monthly gas bill from $30/month to $60/month. And yes, I do enjoy being an total a** at the gas pump, saying things loud enough for everyone to hear like, "Oh man, these prices are crazy, I bet I'm going to spend $50 a month on gas at these prices!"
1) Huge sprawling metroplexes where you drive 30+ miles to work every day (Dallas for example)
2) Living far away from where food is produced
3) Living in areas with hot summers which require huge amounts of electricity for A/C (Florida, Texas, Desert Southwest)
4) 3000+ square foot homes, and 12mpg SUVs with single occupants
There is something called "peak oil" which is the point in time where oil production peaks because we've gotten all of the oil out of the ground that's cheap and easy to get, and from that point on it just get progressively more and more expensive because what's left in the ground is harder and costlier to recover. I've not seen anyone credible refute the peak oil concept, but there is a lot of controversy over when it will happen (some say it already has occurred, others say it won't happen for 40+ years), and there is also disagreement on what the production curve looks like - does it plateau and stay relatively constant for many years, or does it go on a steep decline.
The future is difficult to predict, since as the price of oil increases, sources which were economically unfeasible become viable, such as oil from tar sands or shale, which we have a lot of in North America. Your kids will only be able to see polar bears in pictures and in zoos if we tap that resource.
In any case, I'm expecting to see gasoline at $6/gal at some point in 2009 (not exactly going out o a limb there), but I think that somewhere around $7-8 will be so high that demand drops off enough to stop any further increases, plus the economy will be in the toilet so people just won't have the money to spend on fuel. Lots of really ugly social implications there, better surround your home with barbed wire and have plenty of firearms and ammo available.
The rest of the world isn't seeing as large percentage increases as us, first because of their high taxes, but also because their currencies have increased against the dollar, and oil prices are quoted in dollars.
We bought two Priuses in 2004 and sold one to buy a new Camry hybrid a few months ago (42mpg highway, very nice). We've got three trucks too, but they only get driven when needed, so two of them basically only get driven to charge the battery and circulate the oil, and the one that actually is used is only driven 200-300 miles per month. Gas going from $2.50 to $5 only increased my monthly gas bill from $30/month to $60/month. And yes, I do enjoy being an total a** at the gas pump, saying things loud enough for everyone to hear like, "Oh man, these prices are crazy, I bet I'm going to spend $50 a month on gas at these prices!"
