Today's News Wrap-up...

Two new articles today that scream "there's something wrong..." Yes, oil prices were down today...yes, that's good news...for TODAY!!

When the phrases "a permanent oil shock" and "we should expect to live with high oil prices" appear in print, it should cause a frenzy. Or how about the phrase "Oil prices will continue to present a serious risk to the global economy."

Well, those phrases are straight out of the Financial Times today. (article linked)

Oh, let's throw out some more, shall we? Here's some more money quotes:

(Here's the link to that piece at yahoo.)

"At the core of today's high prices is tight supply — or the expectation of it just around the corner — at a time of and growing demand for both crude and gasoline, government and private analysts said.

"You've got demand forecasts that are clearly going up," says John Felmy, chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute, the trade group for large oil companies. He said refineries are running all-out to meet growing demand.

Clearly motorists aren't easing off the roads."

Yet, you moron. YET!!!!

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I realize that this might be a bit off-topic, but I found your interesting site (blog?) while looking for references.

Dick Smalley (one of the discoverers of carbon fullerenes, or buckyballs) has been speaking eloquently on global energy for a few years now.

His web site can be found here, and his presentations on energy can be found here. In my opinion, his ideas are worth a close look by anyone concerned about this problem.

profgoose: john robb over at global guerrillas has been arguing for sometime that terrorist networks are slowly creating a shadow opec, which controls oil prices by disrupting the supply chain. he also has demonstrated, fairly effectively in my view, that these guerrillas are succeeding in this. if oil is indeed reaching its peak, would it also be true that the effectiveness, or the impact that is, of these shadow opec operations are reaching their peak as well? robb's site can be found here:
http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/

interesting ideas from both of you...

Fed X, I would have to say the flat or declining supply/ever-increasing demand of the oil curve at present (and forever into the future) only puts power into the hands of ANYONE who can disrupt the flow...and that's why I think the effects of peak oil will be even more severe than many are expecting. Dystopic? Yes...but we cannot protect the supply lines...it's that simple.

In a lot of ways, this whole damned thing reminds me of Dune...

Ray: I'll definitely check that out.

Ray: thanks for that link...very interesting stuff indeed. I'm going to have to do some reading up on it, most definitely. (Won't be 'til Monday however as I have conference I have to go to!)