That was an interesting article Sway.
What I find intersting is not the potential reserve, or whether it was over/under stated. What I find interesting is that even if we hit one of the largest reserves in the US, and it pays off vastly more than possible, we still will only hit a small percentage of the actual, current use of oil that we go through in this country. It is mind boggling, actually.
I equate it to the Titanic tightening up a
shaft seal after she hit the Ice Berg. It seems to me, unless I have totally missed something, that it is at best a short term fix and more likely a fools hope. Forget the environmental impacts and global warming, we simply cannot produce what we use (currently, assuming no population growth or industrial growth). That makes us reliant upon foreign countries for an absolutely vital resource... the realities of which are the conscequences we live with today.
I don't know where the answer is. There are people (and it would seem blogs/forums) that specialize in that. But it seems, at least to this dad, that drilling for more oil is waste of time unless it is easily and very economically done. Those same resources should be spent on new technology to get us OFF of the oil and producing something that is economically feasable, replenishable, and reduces (or eliminates) our foreign dependance.
Can you imagine, actually imagine for a short second, what would happen if they just came out with:
1) A batter capable of long term use with close to equal energy in-energy out?
2) A car that could use it and would do so at close to the same performance as current gas autos.
You put those two together, and you would not find the bottom of oil. Detroit would be rolling again, the economy would be shored up, our future would not be dependent on others, and wars would be avoided (not all, but some).
OPEC would dissapear and people like Chavez, Hussein, (all the Iran dictators), etc would no longer have the financial resources to keep their people and brutal policies in check. They might actually have to be good leaders or find a rock to hide under. It would literally change the world.
Just my uneducated opinions, of course, and probably worth what they cost.
- CD