Posted by AuntieMel on December 3, 2004, at 14:15:49
In reply to Re: Price of oil futures down, posted by alexandra_k on December 3, 2004, at 0:14:51
I truly hope you are right that other technology can take it's place.
If current trends continue, in fifteen years or less only a few people (in America, anyway) will qualified to find more than a quart of Pennzoil at the local quicky-mart.
But currently bottled water costs more per gallon than gasoline (if you subtract off the taxes.) So does milk. And good clean water is scarcer than oil in most places.
Actually, adjusted for inflation, gasoline is still dirt cheap compared to when it was selling for .29 a gallon.
As for America getting rich. I don't see that one. US oil production is at 50 year lows. We import more than half of our consumption, (55% in '02, it was 37% in '80 and 42% in '90.)
Over 1,000,000 jobs in the US oil industry were lost between '86 and '92. Any demand in the job market is difficult to fill as university enrollment in these fields is at near all time lows. Who wants to study geology or geophyisics with such volitile employment?
The good times for geologists/geophysicists were over a while back, but those of us left are still a bit shell shocked and each time there is a layoff we are left reeling.
See:
poster:AuntieMel
thread:423423
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20041129/msgs/423988.html