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NickB79

(19,113 posts)
8. Cutting US demand by 50% would cut oil prices to $50/barrel. Um, no.
Mon Dec 10, 2012, 01:10 PM
Dec 2012

He completely ignores the fact that car fleets in Asia and Africa are growing rapidly right now, even at $100/barrel oil. Their added consumption dwarfs any cuts we could possibly make here in the US. Additionally, if you theoretically were able to drop world oil prices down to $50/barrel, it would make it even cheaper for people in developing nations to own cars, accelerating the demand for them.

As has been pointed out, ethanol is a bust. With the crazy weather we're bound to see more of, our ability to grow both food and fuel is pretty much off the table now. The idea of cellulosic ethanol isn't a solution either since that "waste" material is essential biomass vital to maintaining soil fertility in the long term.

Running cars on natural gas sounds appealing at first, and could be good for smaller markets like semi-trailers and tractors, but cheap nat. gas is only possible through fracking, which has a whole host of problems associated with it.

Oh, and need I mention Peak Oil?

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