by Dvanharn » Wed 18 Apr 2007, 14:30:08
In spite of the increasing number of articles on peak oil and related issues cropping up these days (thanks for the many continuing links, Leanan!), some people, especially "conservatives," don't even see peak oil as worth mentioning. In one of the today's front page links here at peakoil.com, FrontPageMagaine, a site that is part of David Horowitz' ultra conservative "Freedom Center," omits peak oil or depletion in many major oil fields, from it's causes for high energy prices. Here's their
perspective:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'E')nergy prices are set by complex interactions in a global marketplace. No one actor or set of actors controls prices.
The price run-up last year was a consequence of many factors. Among the causes: rising oil consumption in China and India; continuing problems with Iraqi oil production; the unsettling impact of the Iran nuclear controversy; political instability in leading African and South American oil producers; limited U.S. refinery capacity; persistent production and refining problems left over from Katrina; the segmented gasoline market, requiring production of multiple "boutique" fuels; and the replacement of MTBE as a fuel additive.
Although the causes they list are valid, the difficulty of replacing the reduced output of declining fields such Cantarell, Burgan, Alaska's North Slope, the North Sea, etc., etc., is a huge factor that they don't even consider.