Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Benefits of oil scarcity - the long run

Most observers point to demand as a fundamental factor behind higher oil prices (without ruling out speculative activity as driving current stratospheric level.) So if supply of oil expands to meet demand, then we'd be back to more normal levels.

I wonder if this prospect is really good for the future of this planet. Oil is an important type of fossil fuel (another is coal, as well as natural gas), and carbon dioxide from fossil fuel emissions has been strongly implicated as a factor in global warming. We're looking at a warmer world folks, and more oil ain't gonna cool it off.

Oh, by the time the world gets much warmer we'll be dead. Not your kids though. Does that matter?

For a scientific summary of the evidence for climate change:

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change summary of findings

No comments: