The hard truth about oil

NEW YORK – Presidents going back to Richard Nixon have been talking about energy independence. It’s one of those vote-getting platforms that no one could possibly be against, like world peace, mom and apple pie. It gives us the illusion of control over our energy destiny, which we don’t have, at least in a fossil-fuel based economy.

But it’s a lost cause.

The only way we’re ever going to be able to ‘find’ significant amounts of oil here at home is conservation, and it’s something the government is going to have push aggressively, at least until technological advances like cellulosic ethanol, hydrogen and other alternative energy forms become available.

Don’t take my word for it. Listen to what Big Oil has to say.

Fortune