SteveB/Colorado

Political Incompetence Could Drive Up the Price of Oil

Regarding "green shoots" of demand, Mexico is also in production decline. Too much petro profits siphoned off for social programs and also likely due to corruption; not enough profit being reinvested in infrastructure.

Is the air car an updated version of cold fusion? One must wonder.

$200 Oil Is Coming While We Waste a Perfectly Good Crisis (Part 3)

I agree with several posters that it's hard to read through such a wealth of comments. Some things stand out among the comments. One poster referred to eco-terrorists not allowing development of oil shale resources in the Green River Formation. One little problem: there is no proven economically viable technology to extract oil from shale. Chevron & Exxon together own several tens of thousands of acres of oil shale land & are doing exactly nothing with it. Shell advises it will be several years at the earliest before they can determine if their in-situ high heat & freeze wall technology is viable.

Another problem with oil shale production is that it will consume enormous amounts of water and energy. Some say the energy may come from on- site or nearby natural gas. But where will the water come from, in an already arid West? Funny that no one talks about, or even knows about, the 1922 Colorado River Compact and how the water in the already over-appropriated river system gets divvied up. Maybe southern California and the Front Range of Colorado will get dried up some so folks back East can still drive their pickups getting 12 miles per gallon??

Second point mentioned by no one: at the time of very high oil & nat gas prices in June , 2008, energy companies were sitting on over 67 million acres of undeveloped leases on shore, mostly in the West, and off-shore. "Drill, baby, drill" was a fun mantra during the election, but was directed in the wrong place. What is the point of continuing to award leases to energy companies just to see the leases sit and enhance the corporate bottom line? Sort of gives the "market" and "reliance" on market forces to accomplish everything a bad name.

All in all, Mr. Quinn presented a thoughtful article. Not sure I agree with each & every comment. But he still gives a lot to think about. Seems to me that we will need all possible energy options to be in play. Final thought to several: give the "eco-nazis" rhetoric a rest; use of that sort of ugly rhetoric doesn't solve anything.

Banking on Energy (Rather than Currency or Gold)

Intriguing concept; but will be interesting to watch how it plays out in the "political" world. Your comment about our "baroque" military was thoughtful. A recent GAO report noted that 64 of 96 current arms procurement programs are running a cumulative $296 billion over budget. And all this with a military that in the beginning years of the Iraq debacle, couldn't even provide body armor for soldiers.

We also just launched another giant aircraft carrier designed to fight the Soviet Union on the high seas. Oops, they must not have noticed the departure of the Soviet Union via implosion in 1991.

Expect Oil to Approach $100/bbl Again By Summer

Worth noting is that even with oil at $145 per barrel and nat gas at $13 MMbtu last summer, energy companies were not developing leases. Stats I saw from last June showed only about 1/4 of leases on shore (primarily in the West) and off shore were being developed. I think all the "drill, baby, drill" last election was just a bunch of hype. I agree that the long term trend in prices is up and up. But I would be very hesitant to want a lot of additional leasing until the companies develop what they already have; something like 68 million acres worth.

Can Americans Really Cut Back on Consumption?

I think it may be easier than it sounds. I was raised in the '60s by parents who went through the great depression. Conservation of resources was a given in our household (I understand that may not be true for those born late in the baby boom and later). But it wasn't a "deprived childhood" either.

I have a small SUV as I go (legally) off highway occasionally to access some backcountry trailheads. I keep my highway speed to 65 or less; not an easy task living out here in the wide open spaces of the West. I cut back on miles driven in 2008 by about 4,000 from 2007. I recycle junk mail, newspaper, aluminum, cardboard, plastic bottles. Several churches in my neighborhood have recycle bins. I keep my thermostat at 62-64 by day; 56-58 at night; and open all my south facing window blinds for "free heat" during the day. I don't run an air conditioner in the summer, but have several ceiling fans.

I can go on and on. I think it's a case of those of us who believe in conservation, and in saving money from such practices, to lead by example in our communities.