retired358

OPEC Cuts, Oil Falls: Something's Not Sustainable

The problem with the West is that as long as crude prices are low, the attitude is "what, me worry"?

The time to act really is now when we have a chance - but, what is the solution?

Some would say tax petroleum products at a higher rate to force conservation. That is not an intelligent solution as it may help conservation but it will also worsen the financial/economic crisis and will just provide more of our money for the gov. to spend unwisely.

Some would say fund a massive research program - again, a waste of taxpayer money. There is plenty of company/private research and gov. funded research in the past has not been productive. And, there are plenty of potential processes available to commercialize now.

The real issue is the volatility in crude prices - which makes investing in newer processes/technology difficult when investments would be on the order of $20 billion for the equivalent of 300,000 bbls/day of products - the output of a large refinery.

Long term, our energy will need to come from solar or biofuels from algae (the only two sources large enough). Nuclear could work but there is currently no acceptance of that route by the public.

So, how do we bridge the gap (until solar or biofuels are viable)? Congress could easily pass a bill to set a floor price for all renewables, alternatives or unconventionals at say $65-70/bbl equivalent. That would allow companies to invest the large sums necessary and would ensure that the best processes were commercialized (rather than having the gov. mandate - via subsidies - solutions which are morally and socially unacceptable - including food to fuel).