vboring

Geologist: In Terms of Supply and Demand, the Oil Peak Is Past

or a disruptive technology like nanosolar's makes energy virtually free (combined with nukes and coal for base load, obviously) and oil demand evaporates, making peak oil alarmists a thing of the past.

An Energy Policy that Makes Cents (and Sense)

incentives are ridiculous and open to perversion.

just use the markets: cap and trade all CO2 production, including gas and diesel.

the markets will find the most efficient answer.

meanwhile, continue funding fundamental research no market would ever pay for.

Does a Slower Economy Mean Lower Oil Demand?

you fail to take into account the type of recession. the tech boom produced nothing physical, so very little energy was involved, so oil consumption would have no direct reason to decline.

the housing boom involved construction, which includes moving large amounts of materials around the country, increased concrete production, increased wood harvesting, all of which is energy intensive. declining activity in the construction and primary materials industries will obviously have a greater impact on energy use. new domestic car sales are also falling because of declining availability of easy credit. car manufacturing is also energy intensive, so a decline here will again impact energy consumption directly.

by far, though, the most important factor is international consumption. specifically, will China ride things out and support oil consumption by switching from first world markets to something else or will a worldwide recession take them with it?