Can the Economy Survive $200-a-Barrel Oil?

I have biked to work/school for 23 years. Gasoline is considered a luxury in our family, used for special occasions like vacations. My commutes have ranged from less than a mile to 16 miles one way.

People don't HAVE to use gasoline. They CHOOSE to use it. So, I commend you all to your choices...

Adam of NY @ May 08, 2008 23:36:01 PM

CERN

This summer they are turning on the Hadron collider at Cern. Maybe a new form of energy will be found. With science there is hope.

Ellen of WI @ May 08, 2008 21:01:08 PM

One good side effect of $200/bbl oil--it makes the Chevrolet Volt and a plug-in Prius that much more viable.

Hemerocallis of CA @ May 08, 2008 18:37:37 PM

i may be a bit naive but, what is wrong with increasing domestic drilling to keep our prices reasonable while other fuel alternatives are being ivestigated. i mean everyone talks about stop using oil.....ok, then what there are no other options awaiting us. i'm so sick of watching my bank account disappear witha trip to a gas pump. and all everyone is concerned with is the environment, what about your fellow man. you'd really rather he go broke just paying for gas to get to work and put food on the table. cause, let me tell you with everything being as high as it is you can't afford to do anything else. and that's driving a 4 cyl. stick maybe 10 miles a day. so, where's the love and not to mention loyalty

of PA @ May 08, 2008 18:17:39 PM

This is what we asked for and are still asking for

That's just my opinion in a few words. Even a child could know that the way we are living can't last forever. We even have a lot of examples from the past: every nation or civilization that thought that the sky was the limit went down sooner or later. That's just a fact and now it looks like it may happen again, but this time it affects the whole world.

And it's not that we haven't been warned by many scientists, geologists, etc... We actualy are still beeing warned more and more these days but we still keep on going. Yes, many people complain that fuel is getting expensive these days. But we still can afford it so why change our way of life? Soon 'driving season' begins again in America and I'm pretty sure every American will put his SUV, pick up or truck out of his garage and start driving around because it's their way of life in those days. When needed they will rather eat some hamburgers less to pay the fuel instead of staying home...

But hey I don't only blame the Amercans. Here in Europe you start to see more and more people driving SUV's and stuff although we are known to be more concerned about the problem...

@ May 08, 2008 17:18:56 PM

Myth or not....

Whether or not "peak oil" is a myth or not, several facts cannot be ignored:

1) Oil will EVENTUALLY run out.

2) Any energy source with a significant carbon output (i.e.-petrouleum) is bad for our environment. Further development and consumption should be avoided.

3) Pumping more oil (likely lowering the price) will only inspire more consumption, NOT conservation.

4) Ethonal is a HOAX! Ethonal gets lower mileage per gallon than gas (around 20% less), has much shorter shelf -life and so is unusuable if it sits in your tank (or the fuel depot / gas station) for too long and uses more energy to produce, so it ultimately has a higher carbon footprint than gasoline. Also, to mortgage our food supply in order to run our cars-STUPID! However, it does represent a HUGE windafll for ADM & Cargill.

5) We cannot continue to trade with nations that support terrorism that threatens our national sucurity.

6) The sun is always shining somewhere. The wind is always blowing somewhere, the Earth will (for at least the next billion year or so) continue to generate heat and the tides are always flowing. None of these sources of energy directly produces carbon.

7) We will more than likely all have to give up our SUVs, outdoor lighting (who does that impress...really?), power tools, 24/7 air conditioning, television & PC use.

8) Governements can never be counted on to act. But WE must.

9) Like it or not, if we do not change our course, life as we have known it will change....dramatically!

Get used to it.

Bob T of NJ @ May 08, 2008 17:01:22 PM

Peak oil is a myth!

I really hate to break it to all of you doomsayers,but peak oil is a myth.There is billions of barrels of oil in texas alone,but the oil companies have turned down the pumps to almost nothing.How do i know this my family has many oil wells with lots of oil blame exxon and shell for not pumping.There is also enough oil in the colorado shale to run this country for many decades its alot cheaper than $120 oil we're paying now.

David of TX @ May 08, 2008 14:47:46 PM

the term is up

Since this country booted Jimmy Carter for wearing a cardigan and being too "gloomy", we've been optimistically focused on the short-term. Guess what? The short-term is over.

"and learning how to raise chickens" You might want to throw in a few lessons on how to shoot a pistol, too.

Bob Nelson of CA @ May 08, 2008 14:27:39 PM