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