The future of oil?
Monday, October 18, 2004
I have to say that there aren't many things that make me nervous in life, even in a global sense, but oil is definitely one of them.
From things I've read, it seems that the world's capacity to pump is just about maxed out and certainly our ability to refine the oil has been at capacity for a number of years (why we don't build more refineries, I just don't understand).
The problem is that the world's demand for oil is growing at an alarming rate. I read somewhere that China is up something in the 30% range. WOW. Even by trying to conserve on an individual level doesn't seem to make much of a dent globally.
I am all for supply and demand pricing... the more expensive gas gets, the less people will use it and look for alternative sources. I filled up the truck this morning at just under $56... I wonder how many miles a more fuel efficient vehicle would travel with that? I'll get about 280 on a good day... My motorcycle takes about $8 to fill up and goes just under 200 miles (but I can't ride it in crappy weather).
Next year, I may have to break down and buy another car, just to have something to drive around. I wish I still had my Altima... maybe I shouldn't have given it away to Donald. :(
1 Comments:
Hey, I put together a nice spreadsheet that helps you decide "diesel vs. gas." It takes into account trade-in value on your current gas vehicle, mpg of proposed diesel car and current gas car, interest on loan for new vehicle, miles traveled per year, monthly payments, and how long it would take the diesel to pay for itself (given consistent fuel prices). You can goal-seek to make your payments = to the amount saved per month, which gives you a break-even point on the cost of a diesel vehicle.
It doesn't include everything, but it gives you a good basic tool to play with the numbers.
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