August 4th, 2008
Are lower oil prices the death knell for cleantech energy?
We’ve been watching oil prices drops during recent weeks. You and I and our fellow Americans are drivng fewer miles. And then the Chinese shut down many of the Beijing-area industries to keep from choking Olympic athletes on particulates. They are even rationing auto driving: odd license plates one day,even the next. You and I may never drive around town or let our kids cruise like the old days… but China will be back burning fossil fuels like crazy in just afew weeks.
Meanwhile, there’s a good look at what level of oil prices allow some biofuels to compete. It’s over on Investors.com. Some second-generation ethanol start-ups, not using foodstuff for raw material, think $60 per barrel is just fine for them. Others look gleefully at a stable price of around $100/barrel as their entry point into the competitive market.
Loading ...Meanwhile, for better or worse, the Beltway Bozos have now decided energy is a big political issue. I could have told them that back when I was paying $3 for a gallon of gas. Now the MSM is starting to notice how energy prices are affecting distribution chains that ship good cheaply all over the globe. It may not cost much to bring an iPod here from China but how about your kitchen cabinets or a shipload of steel? So now energy is going to become the hot political sound-bite of the next weeks. We shall get nauseated at the simple-minded questions asked by TV networks of candidates and their surrogates. Editorials will abound. Remember this: the U.S. production of crude oil has actually decreased during the current President’s tenure despite an increase in well-drilling. Natural gas production has increased. Conclusion: you can only tap what’s there. The supply of oil is NOT unlimited, regardless of technology. Just as some seers predicted in the 1970s oil crisis, eventually we must turn our faces and collection mirrors to the sun.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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