[jbrovont]

Very true. Alternatives for transportation exist, but saying "we have alternatives available" is a lot like saying "fusion is a viable replacement for our energy needs." Yes, we know how to create it, but we're years from making it a net energy producer, much less rolling it out as a commercial product. Yes there is technology for electric cars, and wind power and solar, but we're no where near a position for large scale deployment. Add to that the credit/economic problems we're in, and even if the manufacturing capability was there to crank these things out in a large enough volume...not enough people can buy them to really forestall this.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('RdSnt', '
')For North Americans in particular I would not characterize the use of petroleum as an addiction. There simply are no near term meaningful alternatives that will do a lick of good. Our societies are completely dependent on the use of fossil fuels.

[dohboi]

Unless we massively lower our expectations of how much energy is necessary for a good life.

If over the next year we:

transitioned to a nearly meatless diet,

lived close to our work in much more condensed pattern ( many more people per square foot of living space),

pretty much stopped flying and most other long distance transport,

walked, biked and bussed (or train where available) to pretty much everything,

stopped buying useless crap and of course stopped breeding and slowed immigration (though the latter would probably take care of itself if this was the life style)--

if we did all this and a few other waste-saving things, then continued to move toward renewable sources for the energy we did use, we could get ahead of the PO curve and perhaps give ourselves and the earth a 10% chance of avoiding really horrific consequences of runaway global warming (though, I fear that boat may have already sailed).

But we are addicted to a lifestyle that has been enabled by the age of cheap oil. We will not turn away from it voluntarily. We will drive our collective car right off the cliff rather than slowing down and getting out of it.

[Smudger]

I am encouraged by the reported 20% drop in petrol use compared to last year as people in the UK switch to even more fuel efficient cars and reduce the number of miles driven. I am now investigating an electric bike for the "can you popdown the shops and get some milk pls" chores that normally results in me going down in the car. I do believe with the right will a massive proportion of the oil consumed for transport can be cut out of the system.

[energycity]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Smudger', 'I') am encouraged by the reported 20% drop in petrol use compared to last year as people in the UK switch to even more fuel efficient cars and reduce the number of miles driven. I am now investigating an electric bike for the "can you popdown the shops and get some milk pls" chores that normally results in me going down in the car. I do believe with the right will a massive proportion of the oil consumed for transport can be cut out of the system.

[patience]

When my daughter was in Woodbridge, Sussex on US Air Force duty, She shared a rental house with 2 others. It was stone (very old) and had been insulated on the inside with styrofoam sheets and panelling. Said it worked quite well, and made the heat reasonable.

[thor]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('patience', 'W')hen my daughter was in Woodbridge, Sussex on US Air Force duty, She shared a rental house with 2 others. It was stone (very old) and had been insulated on the inside with styrofoam sheets and panelling. Said it worked quite well, and made the heat reasonable.

[Smudger]

the use thick walls as a thermally massive building works in regulating the temperature. the new modern twist is to reduce the airflow i.e. drafts but to do it without the mositure problem. the solution is a mechanical heat ventilation system which extracts the mositure and redistributes the heat while ensuring there is sufficient air changes in the house. a combination of all of the above can effectively remove the need for heating (if you have top notch insulated windows). houses like this with solar water panels and wood pellet boilers are v energy efficient and will minimise the energy demand from the gride. add on some pv panels and......

[Smudger]

on a separate note the 2.3% reduction in US consumption is a great step forward. the good scenario for this year has to be continued demand reduction, increase in energy effifient cars/alternative trasnport use and the oil price staying between $125-138 thereby reducing the inflation risks at this time but keeeping the pressure on the world (esp the US) switching to more efficient transport. this will help prepare for the post oil transition far better than the oil price spiking even higher, casuing a global recession and stopping the ability of the population to afford to convert to the post oil scenario.

[bodigami]

Oil is back to $133... so it's basically in a $128-$138 range. However MSM will probably say oil is now "cheap", without considering the quick increase in 1 year. Maybe it's because they think oil will continue decreasing over time?

[PeakingAroundtheCorner]

HEADS UP!

We're up $3.60 and once again within striking distance of $140.

[lowem]

Did something happen within the last half hour or so? Before I started off for home from work just now I was looking at $134-135-ish, and then it shot up way over $138.

[smallpoxgirl]

Meh. It's been trading between $131 and $139 for over two weeks now. It goes up, hits the top, comes down, hits the bottom. Kinda like that Atari game Breakout back in the day. Now the 20 day moving average has crept up into that range. Yesterday instead of stopping at $131 on the bottom, it bounced off the 20dma at $133 instead. It's just bouncing around in there like a ping pong ball. Eventually it will breakout, but for now the trading range is holding.

[mcgowanjm]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lowem', 'D')id something happen within the last half hour or so? Before I started off for home from work just now I was looking at $134-135-ish, and then it shot up way over $138.

[mcgowanjm]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'M')eh. ...but for now the trading range is holding.

[no_name]

Oil prices spike close to $139 after OPEC comment

By PABLO GORONDI – 42 minutes ago

Oil prices surged Thursday after OPEC's president said oil could hit $170 a barrel and buyers came back into the market after a sharp drop the day before.

A slightly weaker U.S. dollar against the euro and the Japanese yen also helped support prices.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose $3.43 to $137.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after spiking close to $139.

In London, Brent crude futures rose $3.07 cents to $138.95 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

OPEC President Chakib Khelil told France 24 television on Thursday that he believed oil prices could rise to between $150 and $170 a barrel this summer but "might decline a bit near the end of the year."

He also said he did not think prices would reach $200 a barrel, as some analysts have predicted.

Analysts said daily trading volumes were down sharply this week, with prices swaying within a broad band.

"The oil markets are on holiday," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland. "In this dearth of investment environment, the ($132-$138 per barrel) trading range is respected to the decimal and all of it in one day."

Prices dipped Wednesday on an inventory report that soaring gasoline prices have crimped demand in the U.S., the world's biggest energy consumer. Crude oil stocks rose slightly last week, the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said. Analysts surveyed by research firm Platts had expected a 1.7 million barrel decline.

Gasoline supplies fell less than expected. And inventories of distillates, which include diesel fuel and heating oil, rose much more than expected.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, meanwhile, held a key interest rate steady, ending its string of consecutive rate cuts. The move was expected, and as a consequence, oil futures changed little from where they were trading before the announcement.

Some economists interpreted Fed comments that accompanied the announcement as suggesting there won't be interest rate increases until late in the year.

Interest rates effect the dollar, and the Fed's campaign of rate cuts, which began in September, has sent the greenback into a protracted decline against the euro. Many analysts believe this slide is a big part of the reason oil prices have nearly doubled over the past year.

Many investors buy commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation when the dollar weakens. Also, a weaker dollar makes oil cheaper to investors dealing in other currencies, such as the euro.

While oil investors moved quickly past the Fed announcement, they were clearly worried by the EIA demand figures. The energy market has grown increasingly sensitive to evidence of falling demand. Data suggesting gasoline consumption is falling emerges almost daily in reports from the Energy and Transportation departments, the International Energy Agency and private surveys.

A MasterCard report released Tuesday said demand for gasoline fell 2.7 percent last week compared to the same week last year, and is off by an average of 3.6 percent over the last four weeks compared to the same period in 2007.

The weekly inventory report tends to trigger volatile trading in oil futures, especially since prices have risen to records near $140 a barrel.

In other Nymex trading, July gasoline futures rose 2.69 cents to $3.421 a gallon, while July heating oil futures rose 3.51 cents to $3.7843 a gallon. July natural gas futures were up 1.2 cents to $12.765 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Link

[biofuel13]

I think I smell $140 by the end of the week.

[Daniel_Plainview]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('biofuel13', 'I') think I smell $140 by the end of the week.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mcgowanjm', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'M')eh. ...but for now the trading range is holding.

[jimmyz]

139.97

[Sketh]

140.05