The big energy news this week is that crude oil futures have once again passed the $100 mark, primarily due to political unrest in Nigeria and the possibility that OPEC may cut production in the weeks to come.
We understand that the U.S. uses oil to drive its economy because it’s inexpensive compared to other energy sources. And, unlike some people, we actually think that it’s a good thing that fossil fuels have enabled economic growth and a standard of living unparalleled in human history.
But this week’s development just underscores the fundamental problem with our country’s reliance on oil: we no longer have enough of it under our control to meet our needs. So the U.S., the world’s most powerful country, relies on unstable and corrupt countries in faraway lands to keep our economy moving. We’re not going to be able to transition away from oil overnight, or even in a decade. But we have to start somewhere, and a carbon cap that encourages innovation and the development of new energy technologies is an important first step.
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 1:40 pm and is filed under Oil and Gas . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Whit,
I completely agree with you on the need to transition from oil, but can we PLEASE stop calling oil inexpensive? The only way oil can qualify for that term is if we don’t account for all of the associated costs that come with it. T. Boone Pickens recently said: “the nation’s wealth is being plundered by oil exporters and the U.S. faces a potential financial disaster if our energy policy is not reformed.” That sounds expensive to me.