Which Is Worse For Green Energy? Cheap Oil Or Financial Crisis

Oil prices plummeted again Thursday, falling under $70 a barrel for the first time in more than a year.

That kicked OPEC into action--the oil cartel moved up its emergency meeting to October 24, where it will study a cut in oil production in a bid to halt crude's slide. OPEC is trying to prop up oil at between $70 and $90 a barrel, Bloomberg reports, but fears that global demand will fall next year keep pushing crude prices lower.

So which is scarier for clean energy? The financial meltdown and the credit crunch, or oil in the $60s?
Read the full story here.

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Comments

[Exusian]

Tonight, Oct 21

On PBS Front Line

"Heat"

[StupidDoesNotWork]

What is scary is the leveraged Market Activity that has happen since the republicans took the congress in 1994 and Bush stole the White House in 2000. Since then there has been a steady transfer of wealth from the worker to the Corporations, from Corporations to Stock Owners and away from Mainstreet. The bailout is simpy another program to transfer wealth in the same direction.

Best thing for the financial industry would be to restrict them from the trading of Commercial Paper and all the derivatives and swaps. Forcing the bank to give loans and receive interest. Unless they just want to give the people money free. Just like the Bailout is giving to them. So lowering the stock market to the 7000 range

The best think for the world would be we would slow down and smell the roses, go for walks, enjoy nature and spend more time with our families and loved ones. Quit shipping products from all over the world rather than building products close to the source of consumption. So lowering the demand for oil.

Now all we need is someone to tax corporation into creating local jobs and tax the rich till they cannot pass on to their childred, who do not earn it, more money to influence politicians and laws to make them richer at the expense of the workers.

Obama is a step in the right direction

[MatoSka]

G. Establishment of stakeholder boards for oversight and review http://maineghg.raabassociates.org/member.asp?sort=other , Public Utilities Commissions elected by energy users and represented by qualified advocates including environmental, residential, municipal, and rural;
H. Congressional budgetary commitments through carbon taxes
http://www.carbontax.org/ that transition from military expenditures to energy conversion research and development, implementing Swenson's Law :" To avoid deprivation resulting from the exhaustion of non-renewable resources, humanity must employ conservation and renewable resource substitutes sufficient to match depletion.­" http://www.hubbertpeak.com/swenson/
I. Establishment of Green Building codes; http://www.smartcommunities.ncat.org/buildings/gbcodtoc.shtml
J. Revamping of commercial railroad system and increasing mileage of track- increase requirement for piggy-backing of trailers across states; http://europe.theoildrum.com/node/2229

[MatoSka]

A green energy packae will only come from a Green political agenda. No Greens=no green. Ask Ralph Nader.

As for tansitioning te economy see below for URL links.

The agenda includes the following:

A. Establish the highest percentages for renewable energy production and alternative transportation systems that require the introduction of alternative energies in a twenty year period; http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PlanB_contents.htm
B. Economic compensation packages that address workers impacted by the transition http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/studies_cleanenergyandjobs ;
C. Monitoring systems to evaluate the changes in greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere http://www.ec.gc.ca/pdb/ghg/ghg_home_e.cfm ;
D. Incentives for the development of alternatives to petroleum-based products http://www.greenbiz.com/toolbox/essentials_third.cfm?LinkAdvID=4151 ; "Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical products, including solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics; the 16% not used for energy production is converted into these other materials.­" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum
E. Reduction in the production of single-user modes of transportation http://www.worldwatch.org/node/808 , increase in public investment in mass transit operated with renewable energy http://lrta.info/Facts/facts130.html ;
F. Transition of investment of public utility companies in solar and wind technology, decreasing proportion of energy provided by coal, nuclear and oil http://www.energybulletin.net/5000.html ;

[mouselion]

Which is worse? Both, since lower oil prices result from the current financial prices. (...Hey, wait a minute!)

[Egalitare]

At the risk of being a masochist,

GO OPEC GO!!

[ImagesAndAdjectives]

I'm not sure the drop in oil prices will squelch demand that much. The unemployment rate in the US is not 25%. People still need to get to work and to the grocery store and to visit friends. Surburbia is not set up for "optional" driving. We can bike ride to the grocery for small stuff or even walk, but for most things we unfortunately have little choice but to drive or take public transport, which is actually kind of expensive ($8 roundtrip to go 10 miles here in Denver/Boulder).

Therefore, lower prices will just hasten peak oil faster. Which will hasten the development of green energy, one way or the other.

[mamacat]

In the short term, falling oil prices are good for the economy, but in the long run we need to have the political will to get our society off of imported oil, or we will see the oil crises of the 1970s and of the last 6 months repeated over and over again.

[mjt218]

This will likely be the main consequence of the Presidential election . . .