Tom Whipple: The Peak Oil Crisis: The First Shortages

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 10 Apr 2008, 18:46

www.fcnp.com

Fuel prices alone are unlikely to bring America to its senses.

It clearly will take outright shortages with lines at the pumps, curtailed deliveries and many other misfortunes before serious measures to deal with declining oil supplies ?- speed limits, rationing, mandatory car pools, improved mass transit -- are taken. Thus the question becomes: how soon?

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emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 11 Apr 2008, 10:46

Yep, that's something that has so far failed to concentrate minds - shortages as opposed to high prices. We're so f?cking pampered.

The price is to a large extent irrelevant: we're rich beyond any ancestor's most far-fetched dreams.

But if you can't actually buy stuff because it's not there, it's either burnt already or bought by someone richer, well, even the most efficient FUV is going nowhere.

There is absolutely no alternative to cutting back on consumption. Make machinery as efficient as you can, it won't go without fuel.

More power (renewable) to Whipple's elbow.

fifthcolumn · Post by **fifthcolumn** » 11 Apr 2008, 13:53

emordnilap wrote:Make machinery as efficient as you can, it won't go without fuel.
More power (renewable) to Whipple's elbow.

Exactly!

That's the point in the thread about plug-in hybrids where a bunch of retards insisted on arguing about the efficiency of the engine.
Who cares?
As long as it's powered by a renewable fuel and is reasonably efficient it's good enough.

But I digress: yes, people don't realize that there are going to be shortages and pretty soon now.

Economics states that the market will always be supplied and as long as that happens there are no shortages.

That's true. Textbook theory.
What most people miss from that reading, however, is that if supply shrinks then demand must shrink to meet it. In other words the price must rise to whatever level it takes to price the excess demand out of the market.

That doesn't mean a couple quid a litre. It probably means a fiver a litre.
To start with.

Got bike?

nepenthean · Post by **nepenthean** » 17 Apr 2008, 20:12

Yea, I htought about $15 gas the other day and thought how cheap gas would appear to be now, $3.53.

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 17 Apr 2008, 20:44

nepenthean wrote:Yea, I htought about $15 gas the other day and thought how cheap gas would appear to be now, $3.53.

Ever tried converting the UK price into $? Smile...

"There's always some bastard, who is wose-off than you"!