PowerSwitch

Here's a link to an article that has appeared on MSN.

http://money.msn.co.uk/investing/Insigh ... efault.asp


Someone somewhere has clearly decided that it's time to start gradually raising awareness about Peak Oil.

Note however the reassurance about the total amount of oil left in the ground and, bizarrely, the advice to buy oil stocks.

I liked this bit:

"but for those who only use the car all you can hope for is a light foot or the courage to dust down that bicycle."

Peaked2Soon wrote:.... and, bizarrely, the advice to buy oil stocks.

Why bizaar?

In the short-to-medium term oil company stocks will likely be one of the few doing really well, some people might as well make money of it!

6. Will the price rises cause a recession?

Possibly, but not yet. The rise in oil prices sucks money out of western economies and into the big oil producing countries. The impact is less than in the 1970s because industry is more fuel efficient now than it was then and because low-energy use service industries are a much larger part of western economies.

Perhaps it's just me, but the reasoning behind that sounds just plain wrong.

The impact on the avg car-owning person's wallet is less now because cars are more efficient now than then, but:
1) Then huge swiathes of the working classes did not own a car
2) It's the TOTAL uk consumption that matters not individual car efficiency (25m cars now, ~10m in the 70s)
3) Most of the now-dead british industry used either coal as the primary power source or coal-fired electricity

I also like:

9. Should we blame China?

LOL, no but we're sure gunna.....

Just come across an article stating that oil prices will go through the roof next yr because China have been drawing down a lot of oil from their inventories this yr instead of importing, on the asumption that prices will go back down, and will restart their full imports next year...bit of finger pointing...

They are also due to start filling their own SPR in 2006.

http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/article ... 232138&p=7

http://www.hindu.com/2004/03/02/stories ... 961000.htm