This requires you to believe the Peak Oil Myth, Because without it they couldn't get away charging $5.00 a gallon for gas.
There is enough oil for about another 200 years.  There just isn't the political will to get it.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s when oil was $10 to $40 a barrel it wasn't economically feasible to get oil that would cost $40.00 a barrel to retrieve.
 
There is ANWAR.  which is 320 million acres, but we will not allow drilling on a paltry 2,000 acres.
 
Off the coast of Florida - we won't drill, not even far enough out the oil rigs will be over the horizon in International waters because of environmental objections. But don't worry, the Chinese have partnered with the Cubans and will soon be slant drilling 40 miles of the coast of Florida.
 
There was an oil spill off the coast of California in 1969 which eventually brought about the halt of all drilling off the coast of California. But the technology has improved in the past nearly 40 years to the point where oil spills are much less likely. Case in point: Hurricane Katrina. Many oil rigs were damaged, there were no oil spills.
 
Gulf of Mexico: New oil find at a depth of 28,000 feet. Expensive to get but is now possible since oil is much more than $40.00 a barrel.
 
South Dakota, North Dakota, Southern part of Canada - may have as much oil as Saudi Arabia.
 
Brazil:  The popular notion is that Brazil is producing 95% of it's energy needs through Ethanol.  Brazil produces Ethanol from Sugar Cane.  Brazil offered to sell us the Ethanol but we'd rather pay farmers subsides to grown corn for Ethanol. Ethanol from corn is energy neutral - it takes almost as much energy to make ethanol from corn as you get from the ethanol.  More corn grown, fewer other crops grown, but more corn going into ethanol is one of the causes of skyrocketing food costs.
Brazil has also gotten into off shore drilling for oil.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


----- Original Message ----
From: Geoffrey Purcell <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 1:00:26 PM
Subject: Letter From New Scientist Magazine

Here's an interesting letter from New Scientist, debunking the notion that grain 
will feed all those billions, a common argument against Palaeo diets:-


From William Stanton:-

Richard Dobson says that if the grain now fed to animals were used to feed 
people instead there would be plenty for everyone on Earth(26 April, page 
20) . He omits to say that for corn and wheat to be grown in the huge 
tonnages that are currently produced requires diesel-powered machinery.

The world is now passing through “peak oil”, so petroleum production will soon 
be declining. Liquid fuels such as diesel and petrol will become steadily more 
scarce and more expensive. A farmer using liquid fuels is far more productive of 
grain than a farmer deprived of them. In addition, essential nitrogen fertilizer is 
made from natural gas, which is approaching peak production,. Taking these 
factors together leads to the possibility that in a few years’ time the world will 
have passed “peak grain” too.

  Meat from animals fed on grass will be available to a small proportion of the 
world’s population, but the diminishing supplies of corn and wheat will soon be 
inadequate to feed everyone else.”

Geoff