The Oil Drum

You You make excellent points BRussellNM. I understand how growth obsessed environmentalists are such a large part of our entropy/energy (peak oil) problems. If they simply understood that you can’t keep doubling population and resource use forever on a ball, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

I also agree with you about opening up more areas to exploration in the U.S. I’m sure we’d find another Ghawar somewhere locally if petroleum Geologists were allowed to look up the skirt of those “environmentally sensitive” areas. Hot dog, if oil companies were willing to blow money on searching below the oil window we could get lucky and go all the way.

As for Cuba’s offshore drilling…, I don’t really know much about it but if it just so happens to be in Cuban territory…, well…, I guess we could divert a few troops from Iraq. If not…, I’m confident Florida alone could kick Cuba’s ass.

But I guess I could be missing the point…, maybe what you wrote is actually meant as satire.

Hi BRussellNM,

You are clearly new to the concepts surrounding Oil depletion and Peak Oil. We should not deplete our domestic reserves while others are willing to sell us oil. We will need those reserves far worse in 20-40 years when there are no oil exporters.

For those new to the concepts of oil depletion and peak oil (restricted production flow of oil) here are some resources:

1. A nice introduction and quiz can be found on the title bar link "Peak Oil Overview".

2. A quick peak oil primer can be found here:
http://www.energybulletin.net/primer.php

3. "Beyond Oil" by Kenneth Deffeyes explains peak oil in detail and describes one of the statistical methods for predicting when the peak will happen. He also estimates the amount of oil still to be discovered.

4. "A Prosperous Way Down: Principals and Policies" by Howard T. Odum discusses how to keep the economy as healthy as possible on the downward slope of energy production. Not exporting high quality oil supplies is one of the recommendations (the oil is more valuable turned into manufactured products).

5. "Limits to Growth: The 30 Year Update" by Dennis Meadows. Oil depletion is just one symptom of the much larger problem of exponential growth expanding larger than our limited resource base. This book examines many of the other limits our economy and population must survive. If you want to understand the "big picture" this is the book to read. (and no, it does not predict that society would collapse before 2000. Read it and learn what it really predicts.)

(Prof. Goose: I put this here because it seems people are getting directed to this site to comment on the legislation. I think some introduction up front may help those understand the perspective of The Oil Drum. But if you feel it is off topic and remove it, I understand).

Jon Freise

Analyze Not Fantasize -D. Meadows

From The New York Times, 5/9/2006: "The United States Geological Survey estimates that the energy field on Cuba's side alone may have 4.6 billion barrels of oil and 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That much energy is equivalent to just a few months of the United States' total energy consumption."

This offshore Cuba field is really small potatoes, it's about 25% as big as ANWR, which itself would take a decade to peak at about 1MBD, when it would provide about 4% of U.S. energy needs. These are tactical assets, nothing worth a big fight.

BRusselNM,

Welcome to The Oil Drum! I think its flattering that you decided to join our blog just so you could comment on the pending legislation. I hope you stick around and participate, we don't have many conservatives posting here. Any real American knows that both sides in every debate sometimes have great ideas, and that the current dogmatism divides our country so that we end up with paralyses on important issues.
Bob Ebersole