20/20 reported last night that we are not, in fact running out of oil. Now that gasoline is hitting around the $3/gallon mark it will now be profitable enough for oil companies to extract it from the vast reserves found in the tar sands of Alberta Canada. Their expert claimed it contains enough hydrocarbon to supply the world for the next century.
Cool! I won't need to buy a hydrogen car (if they ever really develop one that I could afford anyway) and that should give us enough time to get all the nuclear power plants running that we could want/need. You go Canada!
We'll just have to get used to the fact that the end of cheap oil is upon us, although from the video, the tar sand extraction process doesn't look all that complicated. I'm sure it will get better & cheaper with time.
Another point made in the Stossel show last night, everyone is having fits claiming that the oil companies are price gouging, but let's be realistic here. Theirs is an extremely long term venture and most of the time it is a losing matter. When they finally can make a bit of money, they need to and quickly. Why? So they can stay in business to continue developing new sources of energy, drilling for more oil, alternative fuels, etc. If they don't make the money now when the prices are high, what's going to pay for R&D when what they have is gone?
I know, that executive with his outrageous windfall of millions doesn't seem to bear out this case and perhaps that needs to be looked at--but really folks, it takes money to stay in business. Think long term. Sure, you can keep yelling that oil companies "suck" but they go out of business, how are you getting to work? How are producers getting their products to market so you can buy them (i.e. FOOD)?
Sure it's a totally bogus socio-economic situation we live in. A house of cards that could quite easily tumble to the ground leaving us in a world of hurt, but eh? What can ya do?
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