"Is Cheaper Oil A Good Thing?"-TIME

www.time.com...

It has plummeted nearly 40% in just three months, from about $147 a barrel in July to below $83 on Friday, with no obvious bottom in sight. If that sounds good, you are probably a driver who winces these days at filling your gas tank. But the downward spiral could mean trouble for oil-rich countries and for the environment.

This article really is amazing to me. We are supposed to feel sorry for the oil companies and countries that have been making a killing by driving up the price of oil. We are supposed to feel bad that lower prices will lead to increased consumption, which will end up destroying the planet. Guess what, there are plenty of consumers out there that will be picking up the US's slack.

Amazing. Not long ago, Bush criticized Clinton's energy policy because oil was $50 a barrel. Now it is $84, that is still a pretty hefty increase and a nice rise in profits for the oil producers. How are they supposed to survive?

I just can't believe they are spinning lower oil prices as a bad thing.

In the short term, oil prices need to be low. I am bled dry every time I fill up my car!

However I think that the short spike of oil into the 150s and the associated pain that came with it will be a clear wakeup call to business. Alternative energy sources will be tapped in the hope that oil will spiral up once again.

The current scenario viz-a-viz oil is ideal in my opinion. There was and is a motivator for alternate source development, while the average joe doesnt have to cry every time he buys petrol.

Yes I shed a tear for the oil companys as I only put 80 dollars worth of gas in car instead of 130,the high oil prices did nothing for me,or anyone else for that matter,but sadly one oil baron might not get the matching set of Ferrari's he so wanted

reply to post by Oldtimer2


I hope the lower price of oil doesn't affect the progress of the worlds tallest tower that the prince is planning on building in Saudi Arabia.


reply to post by 44soulslayer

I guess I am just too conspiratorial. I think that even with the high gas prices, we will continue to rely upon oil as long as we can pump it from the ground. We will not change to an alternative until we are absolutely forced to. The people who have all of the power are too heavily invested in or swayed by oil money.

Originally posted by 44soulslayer
However I think that the short spike of oil into the 150s and the associated pain that came with it will be a clear wakeup call to business. Alternative energy sources will be tapped in the hope that oil will spiral up once again.

Definitely, all the EU regulations and demands for large scale alternative energy production and caps of emissions in member states didn't really matter in the average persons mind until fuel went up almost 40%.

This was the kick that was needed to set the wheels in motion for more efficiency. I hope the US also learn from this and start to implement caps and fines on state emission. It won't cause any more problems than the price hike did.

The only bad things about low oil is:

a) The financial incentive to change to cleaner technology is lessened, and that is terrible for us in the mid and long term, as it traps us longer in a centralised energy system.

b) Increased oil usage will further impact negatively on the environment, adding to the corporate created environmental chaos.

So yeah, there is some relief for the common man, but in the mid to long term I do believe we will all be worse off. We need to get off oil, it's a simple as that, and in that logic low oil prices will never be a real positive for mankind, although most people, stuck in the short term, won't care.