Oil Depletion Debate

Because petroleum has been so instrumental in the development of modern societies and because it is also a finite resource that will some day go into decline, supply needs will fall short of demand at some point. The main focus of this blog is on the arguments put forth by the pessimists. I believe geopolitics will play an equal part in causing a supply shortage before an absolute geological peak, governments will limit their oil production levels

We Won’t Get Fooled Again

We Won’t Get Fooled Again
… unless we believe in "energy independence"
http://www.star-telegram.com/ed_wallace/story/905148.html
"What If We Outlawed Driving?
All of that brings us back to today and the new national cry for energy independence. The British Telegraph reported that, if elected, John McCain will put Governor Sarah Palin in charge of our oil and energy policy. After all, she’s a huge backer of drilling more oil in her state, although not for any reason as altruistic as improving our nation’s energy supply. No, Alaska gets over 80 percent of its state revenues from oil production, so the more oil that is produced out of Alaska, the more money Alaskans have to spend.
It’s even more interesting, at least as it concerns our being energy independent, that the official Republican platform now calls for an end to the nation’s ethanol mandate. Both parties once touted that net energy waste of our resources as being our energy salvation.
Again let me tell you a truth no politician will: Total energy independence for America is never going to happen in our lifetime, no matter what either party says.
Let’s assume that on her first day in office as our Vice President and new Energy Czar, Palin attempts to make us energy independent by outlawing all automobiles and trucks. No exceptions: Clear every last vehicle off every last highway. Guess what? With absolutely no need for gasoline or diesel, closing every gas station and truck stop — not to mention every new car dealership in the U.S. — America will still use more oil than we produce domestically. That’s how big the problem is.
It’s true. Around half of the oil we import, or somewhere around 10 million barrels of oil per day, goes into transportation fuel. That means the country uses 10 million barrels of oil without driving — yet we produce only 5.1 million barrels domestically.
Yes, take every motorized vehicle off our highways and we still need more oil than we currently produce. And that’s why the proposed "energy independence" is a political pipedream — not possible.

Ed Wallace is a recipient of the Gerald R. Loeb Award for business journalism, given by the Anderson School of Business at UCLA, and is a member of the American Historical Society. He reviews new cars every Friday morning at 7:15 on Fox Four’s Good Day, contributes articles to BusinessWeek Online and hosts the talk show, Wheels, 8:00 to 1:00 Saturdays on 570 KLIF