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107 comments on The Economics of Volatile Oil Prices
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107 comments on The Economics of Volatile Oil Prices
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Exactly. I've been thinking for the last two years that all those Econ books I read were made of peanut butter and had been recalled.
Want to get a blank look? Try explaining that without supply, there is no demand.
jteehan says,
"Want to get a blank look? Try explaining that without supply, there is no demand."
Or more fascinating, try explaining that without demand, no matter how good and clean and modern your energy is, there no supply.
I used to drive 22 miles to work,now I drive less than 2 miles, and am looking at a house less than one quarter mile from work.
I have several friends who now have high speed internet and handle three of their workdays from a home office while they watch CNBC on HDTV, and track their investments on Bloomberg on the other computer.
We have not even began to see the advanced technology plug hybrids yet, and already oil demand is collapsing. Everyone is waiting for "when demand rebounds". What if it doesn't?
My young friends go boating every weekend, they are real junkies for the water. They use sailing dinghies, high performance, fun and fast, no fuel. With a bit of planning, they can ride together to the waterfront in a minivan, little fuel consumed, big fun had.
The world is changing more than most people seem to realize, and not in a bad way. The old oil economics are finished, over and done.
We knew it would happen. We knew it must happen. The transitional period is scary, and we are all lost as to exactly how to plan and invest to be ready for the coming post oil/post industrial age. We will figure it out, some better than others. The ones who are most married to the old age are in a state of hysteria. This too will pass. See you in the future, and I hope you have a great time there, because there is no where else to run, no where to hide from it.
RC
To me your confusing technology with energy. First world countries and developing countries will still consume enormous amounts of fossil fuels for many decades.
All the infrastructure that supports a high tech lifestyle is fossil fuel based. The number of people who can afford to work from home is limited.
You confuse oil with all energy.
Oil is the primary source of energy for transport which in turn supports infrastructure. It can't be substituted easily, but modern society is dependant on fossil fuel, that's why I mentioned it a few times!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirsch_report
Unfortunatley I don't have sufficient data to argue the point but I can't help thinking that we are decades away from any substitute for the quantity, energy density and general 'sunk costs' that our oil based economy embodies. I just have a bad feeling that we are mere years away from the decline of what may prove to be the lifeblood of modern civilisation and that worries me a bit because we're really NOT ready for the sh*t that's going to happen when it does...
Nick.
absolutely......the retail fuel industry has been screaming at legislators as well as the news media for over a year that normal market forces i.e. supply and demand, had broken down regarding oil / fuel prices. The curbing of speculation trading for commodity oil was and is needed. One of the quickest means of stimulating the economy is continued pressure for government to support domestic crude developement.Massive job creation is nearly instantaneous.Ya gotta back off some of the "over the top" regulations.In my region,central US,drilling has been shut down this year and jobs are going out the window until further notice.Meanwhile, we pay higher than expected fuel prices because of continued high import of oil.
VERY SIMPLE ECONOMICS = develope domestic crude.
There isn't nearly enough domestic crude to make a difference.