February 12, 2004

oil

evo car icon.jpg


I grew up partly in Texas and my dad, a geologist, spent a lot of time in the oil business.

So Middle East politics aside, oil is not something I have ever had a lot of trouble with.

Yeah, it’s smelly, yeah, it screws up the atmosphere, yeah, people die because of it. Welcome to Planet Earth, Babe. Life is tough all over.

But I don’t get too upset about it. It’s not going to be around much longer. We’re running out. In about 15-30 years technology won’t be able to keep the stuff cheap any more.

I’m optimistic. I think with the oil supply in decline there will suddenly be real commercial incentives to find a viable replacement. Right now there isn’t, which is why alternative fuel technology is still in its infancy… Nobody can be bothered- there are still too many easier ways to make money. But I doubt that will always be the case.

I’m thinking maybe in 100 years or so we might very well regard the by-then-defunct oil companies in the same way we now regard our slave-trading ancestors. “Gosh! They did WHAT for a living? How terrible!!”

Interesting times we live in…

Posted by hugh macleod at February 12, 2004 12:36 AM
Comments

Oil isn't going anywhere any time soon. If anything, wouldn't technology make it cheaper? Technology doesn't get worse over time...

Posted by: Bret at February 13, 2004 1:05 AM

Technology has done nothing but make oil cheaper for the last 100 years; I imagine it will continue to do so for a while yet.

My interest is not in how we're going to "save the world". My interest is in the new opportunities that are created as the world changes.

Call it "environmental capitalism", if you will.

Posted by: hugh macleod at February 13, 2004 12:34 PM

No, we're not going to run out of oil before we kill ourselves with it. The real problem is sustaining ourselves in our environment, an environment long neglected or not prioritized in business, until now. Just because oil is not an infinite-supply resource doesn't mean that we're in any realistic danger of running out. However, the problems that it introduces to our environment is becoming more and more of a high-priority issue and, at some point, some bold businessperson will take the industry through the transition. Until then, don't throw out your gasmasks.

Posted by: Bosko at March 13, 2004 4:32 PM