Rubin reveals a world bound to crude

…Rubin uses the analogy of digging in the couch to find the lost coins that inevitably fall from one’s pockets as a way of finding enough money to take the subway to work.

“Right now, the oil companies of the world have their hands deep between the cushions, and so far they been coming up with enough dimes and quarters to get us all to work. But there is only so much change to be found, and more people are heading out the door to work every day.”

That might true, but what of the fact that less oil is used to generate the same amount of GDP as was 20 years ago. Shouldn’t that mean we are not as dependent on oil as we were? And isn’t that the argument that was being made as oil was leaping toward the $150 mark? Because we use less, said the economists, the world could weather higher oil prices.

That might be true–to a point. But then something called the efficiency paradox kicks and the result is that even though the developed world might use less oil, it’s because we are more efficient that consumption actually goes up.

Calgary Herald