> Prices are up 200% over only a years time.
Which proves nothing except we will keep buying gasoline no matter how much
they charge for it.
Same thing happened some 35 years ago ... I can remember buying gasoline by
the 1/2 gallon, because the meter on the pump could literally not go high
enough to cover the price per gallon ! People said the same thing then,
too, that it was because we were running out of oil. Oddly enough, it
wasn't true.
> Crude has hit 70 USD on the spot market
Yeah, a whole 10% more than it cost 25 years ago ! Inflation has been more
than that, so in constant dollars, it's probably actually cheaper.
Granted that was an abnormal peak, but evidence is good (IMO) that this is
an abnormal peak too. And just like it did then, it will go down again.
> I do firmly believe we will see energy wars in my lifetime.
I'd say we've already seen them.
> So the geologists the pros looking for new sources are all wet?
I didn't say that ... you did. But I know from personal experience that oil
exploration follows oil prices. When prices drop, as they did back in the
early 80s, the oil companies quit looking for more oil. And the oil
exploration ships that I worked on back then got mothballed or
decommissioned. Used oil field equipment was literally being sold for
pennies on the dollar, because no one was drilling new wells.
> The
> ostrich hides his head in the ground..... if it can't see the
> danger then there is none. OK have it your way.
Deano, I have no doubt the world will end. Yes, it's coming, and nothing we
do can stop it. The question is when. And I don't believe it will be
tomorrow.
Likewise, oil will eventually become much scarcer than it is today. When it
does, energy will become more expensive. And lots of sources that are not
economically feasible today will become practical and common; like shale
oil, grain alcohol, biodiesel and biomethane. I do hope no one took my
comments to mean that I don't think we should be investigating all of those
alternatives. But we're not going to "run out" of oil tomorrow, or even in
my lifetime. And Triumphs (at least the carbureted ones) are uniquely
suited to alternative fuels. My TR3 runs pretty good on pure alcohol, for
example.
In fact, I was just chatting with a friend the other day about the
feasibility of building an external combustion (steam) hybrid, capable of
burning bio-diesel or perhaps just used cooking oil/animal fat. If I had
any time (or a place to keep it), I'd be looking for a round-tail Spit to
put it in.
But no, I don't believe the sky is falling. And that ain't shinola !
Cheers
Randall
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