$500 Barrel of Oil

I'm not sure how much of this is hyperbole, but the hard fact is that the world is now facing the end of cheap oil. At long last, we are finally entering the era of Peak Oil. What that means, simply, is that global demand will outstrip supply, and that this is a permanent fact of life. There are too few dinosaur bones and too many people who want to use 'em.

Reaching $100 oil was largely a psychological milestone; after this point, oil will be subject to the law of supply and demand like everything else. Add in declining oil resources and steadily rising demand, and there's no telling just how high that price will reach. Conceivably, the price of oil could skyrocket forever. This is why we so desperately need to kick our addiction to fossil fuels. Well, that and the whole global warming thing, which threatens our very extinction.

Which reminds me. There was a phony infomercial on tv last night, a front for the oil industry that aims to confuse the public on whether global climate change is even happening, to say nothing of mankind's role in the crisis. Good grief, I hate these people. Money, money, money. Nothing is more important than more money, more money, more money. They will literally bury their grandchildren and ours for the sake of one more dollar for their vaults.

I bring up the subject because of this article which appeared today. The spectre of $500 oil is probably beyond most people's imagining, but it is a looming crisis for our civilization. This comes from Fortune Magazine, certainly no hippie Deadhead stalwalt. When the conservative business types become alarmed at the sight of peak oil and climate change, you damn well better listen.

It's such a damn frustration that we as a nation are so easily distracted by the trivial and the stupid. There really is only one major issue that we need to address, and that's oil addiction and climate change. Nothing else even comes close. We're facing the extinction of human civilization.

So....on that happy note, enjoy reading Fortune's profile on Matt Simmons.