On the surface, drilling for more oil seems logical for the mid-term, but it is neither a short-term or long-term solution. I have read that it will take between 5-7 years for the new drilling to have an effect on oil prices. Even if we have more oil, our refineries are pretty close to the limit of max production, and there are no plans to build any new refineries.
Drilling for more oil definitely is not a long-term solution. The politicians should stop wasting time, and push completely towards the use of hydrogen as fuel. The new oil wells will dry up, and then we will be left in this same exact situation again 15 years later. People need to start thinking far enough ahead and not just for the hear and now.
If the government would get behind private investors to push the building of cars that can use hydrogen (either through fuel cells or combusting it), then we will all be better off in the end. As a matter of fact, the government can do this on their own without private investment as well. This is a big enough project that it surely could warrant the cost.
The politicians need to get together and look at this clearly and with eyes to the future.
1 comment:
I think that most people are missing some very important points on this subject. You are right that it may take a few years to get "new" oil out on the market, 2-3 is more like it not the 5-7 some say. If you knew there was a billion dollars in the ground and all you had to do was spend 50 million to get you would have started working yesterday, but that is not really the point.
The whole reason for the rise in the cost of gasoline is speculation, as much as 60-70 percent at times. The reason speculation has run up the cost so much is investors know there is not going to be an increase in production yet demand will continue to grow, that is simple supply-demand economics. The mere thought that eventually that there is going to be will be more oil and thus sway the supply-demand balance to be more equal will drop the speculation run up, thus providing a temporary relief in the cost of gasoline. This has to be done or people will continue to go under due to increases in the costs of everyday goods like bread milk electricity and natural gas.
I do agree that we need to shift away from fossil fuels, however it will take at least 10 years to make the necessary changes in energy infrastructure to switch to hydrogen, yet the time to switch to e-85 or bio-diesel is measurable in days, not even weeks. I do have knowledge of the energy supply chain since I have worked for a gasoline retailer for over a decade, and have seen what it takes to produce the energy we consume everyday is absolutely mind blowing.
All this goes without even mentioning that it will take an estimated 18 years to turn over all the automobiles that are currently in use. That also goes without mentioning the billions of dollars needed to build new energy production facilities would add more burden to consumer, there is no easy answer, yet to pull the gas plug in short order would completely wreck the USA economically and physically.
Post a Comment