This still vastly overestimates the impact of domestic drilling. We have a world oil market. Thus, if prices drop in the US, less overseas oil will come here. This means that the impact needs to be compared against world oil consumption, which is 4 or 5x as big.
While I won't touch on the credibility of such a graph on a blog at treehugger.com, I will add, simply, that any additional oil production benefits everyone worldwide.
Renewable energy is critical going forward, but the technology isn't there yet to flip the switch and say good-bye to oil, and a few trillion dollars (more) in government grants and incentives won't get us there overnight.
Renewable energy is critical going forward, but the technology isn't there yet to flip the switch and say good-bye to oil
Bullshit. The technology for electric cars is viable right now, certainly more so with the price of gas sky high.
Now the will - with a multi-billion dollar industry dolling out kickbacks like they are going out of style and a public with an insatiable need to buy the biggest damn car on the road - that's another thing.
the incentive to buying an electric car is reaching a tipping point. once that tipping point is reached economies of scale will kick in and we'll have faster adoption than people expect. however, personal transportation isn't the big problem with oil consumption. personal transportation uses up less than 10% of global oil supply yearly.
an aside: can we blacklist treehugger urls? their submissions are ALWAYS sensationalist.
My point was not that electric cars cannot be produced -- they can, and in large numbers for low prices -- but that the electric grid in the United States cannot yet support millions of cars charging every day, especially when you consider the multitude of other electric devices those same people have plugged in 24/7.
Once we have nuclear power plants again and modern lines running to modern equipment in every American home, then we can talk about everyone switching to electric cars.
Technology is not used in a vacuum: a lot of pieces have to fall into place first.
There are a few points missing from this analysis:
1. Oil prices are subject to price elasticity, that is, the relationship is not a linear one. For example, 10% more oil on the market than is being bought, would not reduce prices by 10%, it would reduce prices by perhaps 25%.
2. Drilling is not solely about oil price. The reason that drilling will occur is that domestic oil production means more total dollars going into the US Treasury. There are royalties and other taxes, not to mention taxes on employment (humans, not robots, build the rigs and operate the machinery).
Right now, when the USA sends $500Billion per month, or whatever the number is, overseas to pay for foreign oil, the US gov't gets virtually none of that in taxes or royalties, and even the follow-on effects of Saudis buying our goods are weak. Domestically produced oil has much more positive effects on the US economy, per-barrel.
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[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 29.8 ms ] threadDo they know that they are tools for the oil industry?
Renewable energy is critical going forward, but the technology isn't there yet to flip the switch and say good-bye to oil, and a few trillion dollars (more) in government grants and incentives won't get us there overnight.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/otheranalysis/ongr.html
Bullshit. The technology for electric cars is viable right now, certainly more so with the price of gas sky high.
Now the will - with a multi-billion dollar industry dolling out kickbacks like they are going out of style and a public with an insatiable need to buy the biggest damn car on the road - that's another thing.
an aside: can we blacklist treehugger urls? their submissions are ALWAYS sensationalist.
Once we have nuclear power plants again and modern lines running to modern equipment in every American home, then we can talk about everyone switching to electric cars.
Technology is not used in a vacuum: a lot of pieces have to fall into place first.
1. Oil prices are subject to price elasticity, that is, the relationship is not a linear one. For example, 10% more oil on the market than is being bought, would not reduce prices by 10%, it would reduce prices by perhaps 25%.
2. Drilling is not solely about oil price. The reason that drilling will occur is that domestic oil production means more total dollars going into the US Treasury. There are royalties and other taxes, not to mention taxes on employment (humans, not robots, build the rigs and operate the machinery).
Right now, when the USA sends $500Billion per month, or whatever the number is, overseas to pay for foreign oil, the US gov't gets virtually none of that in taxes or royalties, and even the follow-on effects of Saudis buying our goods are weak. Domestically produced oil has much more positive effects on the US economy, per-barrel.