It's easy to get emotional over the price of oil. I did too, so I went to Amazon and purchased 2 books. Figured it was time to educate myself big-time, as this oil thing has the potential to flatten my profession single handedly.
Here's what I learned in a nutshell.
First, there is no supply side solution to the problem of peak oil (declining output of oil going forward a few decades). When pundits and media gasbags talk about drilling more oil here in Alaska and off our coasts, they fail to know that even with all that oil, our country will STILL require lots of imported oil. We sadly need OPEC oil in the future.
Secondly, a big problem is this: world oil demand is going up exponentially the next few decades just as oil output will fall. If you think prices are high now, wait until they hit $400/barrel within a few years.
The best book was "Profit from the Peak", which really dives into oil, oil alternatives, and renewable energy. It even gives stocks in which you can consider investing in if you believe what the authors are predicting. I sure do, btw.
The airline industry has a major problem on its hands. If it can't make money with oil at $100, it's going to lose barrel-loads when oil is at over $150 later this year. What's the industry to do? Raising prices won't be the answer--sorry. Cutting our pay 20% won't help, either. Government takeover?
This is a major crisis brewing on our hands, and I'm debating switching careers gradually to somehow take advantage of this looming threat (as the book sees it as well). Solar and wind power salesman, perhaps?!
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