The Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster. The Massey, W.Va., coal mine accident. The Tennessee coal ash disaster in 2008. The BP oil refinery disaster in Texas in 2006. These and countless other fossil fuel disasters are finally having an effect on public opinion. Fully two-thirds of Americans believe Congress must make our country’s energy needs a top priority.
So why do I think the debate about energy and climate change is the debate that will define America’s future? It’s because the peak oil situation is actually more dire now than when energy prices were sky-high back in 2008. Prices are relatively low because of the ongoing global recession. Oil prices were rebounding steadily this year, up to almost $90 a barrel before the euro crisis knocked them back down to about $70 (prices were as high as $147 a barrel, leading to $5 a gallon gasoline, in the middle of 2008 before the recession hit hard).
There is now a growing consensus among energy economists and analysts that as soon as the global recovery gets under way in a serious way that prices will again skyrocket. But the reason the situation is more dire now than before the recession, when prices were much higher, is that the recession is leading to cancellation of many projects that would otherwise have gone forward. This means we’re looking at major shortfalls in oil supplies as the global economy gains steam.
noozhawk
