The cost of oil would presumably drop with increased supply or reduced demand. The only story the media is covering is increasing supply: should we or should we not drill in environmentally sensitive areas?

So let me talk about what others aren’t talking about, namely, decreasing demand. First, some facts:
• At current consumption, we will run out of oil within the lifetime of today’s children and young adults; estimated world reserve is 45 years.
• Some critical products such as pharmaceuticals are made from oil.
• Over 2/3 of the oil we use is burned to move ground vehicles creating pollution and global warming, a job that could be done cleanly with non-polluting electricity.
• Cars that run primarily on electricity will become available in 2010.
About Electric Cars
These are not glorified golf carts but sporty vehicles that get to 60 mph in seconds and can cruise silently at 70-80 mph. There are 3 kinds:
1. ZEV, zero emission vehicle; an all electric car. At this time, Nissan is the only major auto maker that plans to offer these in 2010. They have a limited range, 30-40 miles.
2. PHEV, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, also called a 2-stage hybrid. It differs from a conventional hybrid in that the batteries can be charged from an electric outlet. It functions like a ZEV if driven within the range of the batteries. Toyota, GM and VW have announced offering these in 2010. The VW announcement reports performance of over 90 mpg over a 62-mile route.
3. CONVENTIONAL HYBRID. These have been around for some time. The 48 mpg Toyota Prius is the most efficient and best known.
What People Can Do
(1) Commit to having your next car be one of the electrics (plug-in hybrid preferred) thereby contributing to —
o a reduction in consumption of oil.;
o reducing air pollution and global warming;
o saving oil for critical uses like pharmaceuticals;
o saving oil for future generations;
o freeing ourselves from dependence on oil from unfriendly sources.
If everyone did this consumption could be reduced by as much as 2/3 and oil prices would plummet. But even if you’re alone at this and prices remain high, you will be using so little oil that cost hardly matters.

(2) To make this work, we need a COHERENT NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY to replace the current “hodgepodge of government incentives — the handiwork of lobbyists, with all the inconsistency and irrationality that involves” (quote, John McCain). Ask your representative for an energy “master plan”
which includes
• electrification of our transportation system, both private and public;
• regulation of electricity cost, particularly to provide lower cost during low usage periods;
• generous incentives for low income buyers of low emission vehicles;
• cutting off funding for unproductive programs such as ethanol biofuel from corn (1) and hydrogen fuel cells (2);
• using the aforesaid funds to finance the low emissions incentive program;
• accelerated construction of power plants that produce no emissions such as nuclear.
and which avoids
• becoming riddled with concessions to the oil and farm lobbyists.
(3) Oppose drilling in sensitive areas to save these oil reserves for future generations.

For more information see http://comped.org/oilcrisis/

Hans Borchardt
July 2008

(1) Fuel from corn is a net energy LOSER requiring 29 percent more fossil energy than the ethanol fuel itself actually contains according to David Pimentel, a professor of ecology at Cornell University who has been studying grain alcohol for 20 years, and Tad Patzek, an engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

(2) “In the President’s State of the Union Message President Bush announced a $1.2 billion hydrogen fuel initiative — President Bush is proposing a total of $1.7 billion over the next five years to develop hydrogen-powered fuel cells —”
Mr. President, how long will this program take? Answer, a “car driven by a child born today could be powered by fuel cells.”