Why 'Peak Oil Doomsters' Are Wrong

2 May 2006 - 10:00am

Ronald Bailey believes free markets will address the world's oil supply problem.

"The good news is that the peak oil doomsters are probably wrong that world oil production is about to decline forever. Most analysts believe that world petroleum supplies will meet projected demand at reasonable prices for at least another generation. The bad news is that much of the world’s oil reserves are in the custody of unstable and sometimes hostile regimes. But the oil producing nations would be the ultimate losers if they provoked an “oil crisis,” since that would spur industrialized countries to cut back on imports and develop alternative energy technologies."

Full Story: Peak Oil Panic
Source: Reason, May 1, 2006

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Free markets, yeah right

There is nothing free about global oil markets. We can not rely on short term economic goals to inform long term strategic transportation and land use planning. The issue is not when global oil production will peak. The issue is to begin to prepare for a future where Americans use energy in fundamentally different ways and quantities. In terms of preparing for the new energy paradigm, it matters little to planners whether oil production peaks today, tomorrow, or 20 years from now. Federal energy policy looms as the 21st century's greatest political let down.

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I argue that the vocabulary of planning and the concepts necessary to participate in local government and planning issues need to be taught to students in K-12.