Secret Is Out 4239

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No, the real problem, you ill-informed average Joe, is that oil is a finite resource and most Americans know more about NASCAR lap times than where oil actually comes from.

The graph below shows why U.S. production can't possibly supply America's 20 million barrel per day (and rising) habit. America's reserves are at the bottom in green. Some might call this graph pessimistic but no oil geologist disputes its general truth. Bush has surely been briefed on this, but he probably doesn't want to panic people. He also has a big stake in keeping petroleum operations going.

Notice the 1970 production peak and our small ratio to world supplies. ANWR drilling or Colorado shale would be just a blip on that downhill slope. We went to the Middle East in the 70s because we had no choice, not become of some environmental conspiracy. Please learn what the hell you're talking about.

Even if we tore up all U.S. wilderness with oil beneath it, that graph line would barely fluctuate, and a priceless legacy would be lost in the process. Notice in the graph that natural gas (NGL) is more abundant than petroleum, but it too will peak relatively soon. Some people actually think propane isn't a fossil fuel! ALL fossil fuels are doomed to get more costly as demand grows and extraction slows. No amount of economic voodoo will change that, but dumbbuttes like you still miss the point.

You can't learn about these things from Fox News or some offhand comment by Sean Hannity. Even "liberal" CNN is missing the boat by mostly talking about "gas prices." But, for the first time in my memory, the media is telling us that prices are high because world demand is outpacing production (China, etc.). That's exactly what the Peak Oil "pessimists" have warned about. This is much different than the political 1970s embargo when we were still decades from a world peak.

Good primer on Peak Oil concepts:

Advice on getting the most mileage out of a tankful:

C.T.