Just what was the ending date of "cheap and risk-free oil extraction"?
Gene Coyle On Jun 23, 2010, at 6:18 AM, Louis Proyect wrote: > If you think of peak oil in terms of an end to cheap and risk-free > oil extraction, like during the heyday of Texas gushers, then this > all begins to make sense, as well as cry out for an alternative > energy policy carried out under socialism: > > BP-Style Extreme Energy Nightmares to Come > Four Scenarios for the Next Energy Mega-Disaster > By Michael T. Klare > > On June 15th, in their testimony before the House Energy and > Commerce Committee, the chief executives of America’s leading oil > companies argued that BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf > of Mexico was an aberration -- something that would not have > occurred with proper corporate oversight and will not happen again > once proper safeguards are put in place. This is fallacious, if > not an outright lie. The Deep Horizon explosion was the > inevitable result of a relentless effort to extract oil from ever > deeper and more hazardous locations. In fact, as long as the > industry continues its relentless, reckless pursuit of “extreme > energy” -- oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium obtained from > geologically, environmentally, and politically unsafe areas -- > more such calamities are destined to occur. > > At the onset of the modern industrial era, basic fuels were > easy to obtain from large, near-at-hand energy deposits in > relatively safe and friendly locations. The rise of the > automobile and the spread of suburbia, for example, were made > possible by the availability of cheap and abundant oil from large > reservoirs in California, Texas, and Oklahoma, and from the > shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico. But these and equivalent > deposits of coal, gas, and uranium have been depleted. This means > the survival of our energy-centric civilization increasingly > relies on supplies obtained from risky locations -- deep > underground, far at sea, north of the Arctic circle, in complex > geological formations, or in unsafe political environments. That > guarantees the equivalent of two, three, four, or more > Gulf-oil-spill-style disasters in our energy future. > > Back in 2005, the CEO of Chevron, David O’Reilly, put the > situation about as bluntly as an oil executive could. “One thing > is clear,” he said, “the era of easy oil is over. Demand is > soaring like never before… At the same time, many of the world’s > oil and gas fields are maturing. And new energy discoveries are > mainly occurring in places where resources are difficult to > extract, physically, economically, and even politically.” > > O’Reilly promised then that his firm, like the other energy > giants, would do whatever it took to secure this “difficult > energy” to satisfy rising global demand. And he proved a man of > his word. As a result, BP, Chevron, Exxon, and the rest of the > energy giants launched a drive to obtain traditional fuels from > hazardous locations, setting the stage for the Gulf of Mexico oil > disaster and those sure to follow. As long as the industry stays > on this course, rather than undertaking the transition to an > alternative energy future, more such catastrophes are inevitable, > no matter how sophisticated the technology or scrupulous the > oversight. > > full: > http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175264/tomgram%3A_michael_klare%2C_the_coming_era_of_energy_disasters/ > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
