The Oil Drum | Late night open thread

34 comments on Late night open thread

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louGrinzo on September 7, 2005 - 7:37pm

I'd like to know what people think of this article, published today and linked to from EnergyBulletin.net.

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/090705Pfeiffer/090705pfeiffer.html

Dale Allen Pfeiffer's "The Story of a Hurricane" is about Katrina, PO, and their interlinked ramifications.

In particular, toward the bottom of the article, he writes:

"In the coming months, gas prices will continue to rise. They may go over $4 per gallon within the next few weeks. And they may pass $5 per gallon nationwide before the year is out. Within a year, we may see shortages, rationing and transportation disruptions. Police patrolling, fire fighting and school busing budgets could be affected. This winter, natural gas heating prices could skyrocket. And by next spring, the price of everything from plastics to food could begin spiraling upward. And once investors realize the true severity of our situation, it will be every man for himself."

Hmm....

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ClintB on September 7, 2005 - 8:36pm

Kind of a telling article from the International Herald Tribune...

"The White House has told US refiners to postpone all scheduled maintenance in a drive to maximise petrol and diesel production as the administration raised its oil price forecasts on Wednesday in the wake of Hurricane Katrina"

This surely supports Dale's contention. But it seems to have come from a foreign source.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/e4160926-1fdf-11da-853a-00000e2511c8.html

Does the White House have the authority to do this?

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Donal on September 7, 2005 - 9:06pm

I should be asleep, but I'm watching Blake vs. Agassi.

I'd call Pfeiffer's article a "disorderly contraction bordering on collapse" prophecy of peak oil. In Pfeiffer's perspective, the US is vulnerable to dropping out of the game before Europe and Asia.

Would the early collapse of the US save the rest of the world? That one fellow said the big drag on the environment is the billion of middle class in the world, only a quarter of which is the US population.

Would the collapse of the rest of the world save the US? Not in its present form, I'd think.

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34 comments on Late night open thread

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