| Subject: Are Americans ready to face an energy crisis? |
Author:
Betty
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 11:44:10 05/15/05 Sun
Are Americans ready to face the possibility of an energy crisis?
Remember the 1970s?
Remember long lines at gasoline stations and signs saying stations were out of gas?
Remember the price climbing to what, in 1973, was considered outrageous levels?
Well, the price of gasoline is at outrageous levels that make people long for 1973 prices. And it looks as if the price is going to keep rising.
Everyone keeps saying something's got to give, someone has got to do something about this. The main problem, however, is no one has an idea of who is supposed to do something.
Unlike the 1970s, we're not facing an oil shortage, at least not now. Last year, global oil production was 72.5 million barrels a day, compared to 66.8 million barrels just two years earlier, according to the American International Automobile Dealers Association.
That's even with oil consumption at record levels. The increasing demand isn't solely America's. From 2002 to 2004, American oil consumption grew by about 700,000 barrels a day. China, meanwhile, increased its oil consumption by almost 1.5 million barrels a day.
Current oil production rates reportedly are maxed out. It has been about 30 years since a new oil refinery was put online in the United States. According to an AIADA report, the only way to increase supply is for producers to invest in new production capacity that won't come online for several years. But they're afraid of a boom-and-bust overinvestment cycle followed by a price collapse.
That's one reason increasing prices haven't created a corresponding increase in supply, says the report.
Supply and demand aren't responding to each other, producers aren't trying to produce more oil and, just as importantly, consumers aren't altering their demand for oil.
So, we're left with high gasoline prices and the prospect of even higher prices. Yet something else may be waiting over the horizon, something more ominous than $2.50 gasoline.
At a summit this week of oil-producing countries, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned of a looming energy crisis because of growing demand and maximum production. Mr. Chavez said there's a worldwide energy crisis "around the corner." Other international reports also point to a potential energy crisis.
So what does all this mean for the average person?
If the situation continues unchanged, it means it won't be long before growing demand will outstrip production capabilities. Even tapping oil fields above the Arctic Circle likely would prove too little, too late for the United States, according to some observers. It means it might not be too long before Americans face another 1970s-style oil crisis.
But are Americans ready to take steps to reduce demand for oil to at least slow a potential crisis? Are they ready to lower their gasoline consumption, whether through less driving or more fuel-efficient vehicles? Would they be willing to change driving habits to help reduce consumption, such as maintaining their vehicles better or even driving a little slower?
For us in the Twin Lakes Area, the 55 mph speed limit imposed in the 1970s as a means of fuel conservation never went away, except on the Highway 62/412 bypass and that stretch of Highway 65 between Harrison and the Missouri line. Would Americans as a whole be willing to ease off the gas pedal to ease their gas consumption by going back to a 55 mph speed limit?
Thirty years ago, Americans initially resisted fuel-conserving ideas, yet they ultimately — albeit reluctantly in some cases — took to them. They drove a little slower, many switched to more fuel-efficient vehicles, they adjusted thermostats in homes and workplaces. They used public transportation more. They did what they had to do.
Gas prices didn't go back to pre-crisis levels, but increases slowed. Oil production grew, even if the number of American refineries didn't. Americans became more energy conscious and alternative energy sources were tapped, again a bit reluctantly in some instances. Even with occasional spikes in fuel prices, the situation leveled off through the years.
In the process, Americans grew a bit complacent while oil demand in other countries began to grow. They fell under the spell of the SUV and other high-consumption vehicles and, until gas prices skyrocketed, they just rocked along without an energy care in the world. Or so they thought.
With a potential energy crisis looming, the question of who's going to do something about it remains. While the president and Congress can work on policies, and oil producers can try to figure out a way to produce more oil, and researchers can look for alternative energy sources, it's really not them who will decide what to do.
Look in the mirror. That's who ultimately will do something. Individual Americans.
They can't control prices. They can't control production.
They can control consumption. They can adjust their lifestyles when it comes to using gasoline and oil products. They can do what they have to do to deal with the situation.
Americans have done it before. They can do it again.
They'll have to do it again.
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 