hamburger wrote:
you could have simply said that to secure future supply , we will all have to agree to pay higher prices now .
i certainly would not have given you an argument about that - higher energy prices are a must imo .
i probably have missed your entry where you recommend that energy prices be increased now to ensure supply in the furure - i apologize !
hbg
No apologies needed. I am not advocating any price increase, I am simply advocating let the free market determine the price as much as possible, and I am also simply recognizing the reality of likely upward price pressures in the free market by the realities of supply and demand. I think there will be corrections from time to time, with a possible downturn of oil prices as a result of lowered demand due to price, etc., but overall, I think the trend will be generally upward. The corrections that will occur, I don't know the duration of them, whether they will be a few weeks or as much as a few months, but I am fairly sure that when these corrections occur, the overall increased demand of the developing world will again dry up the supply, and price will once again climb.
As this scenario plays out over a period of years, there will be price plateaus reached where alternate energy sources will become more competitive in price and technologically, and these points in time will herald a whole new phase of activity in those alternate areas. Gradually, the energy mix will undergo small changes, and not so small changes.
Anyone suggesting that all of this can be changed overnight is whistling dixie. It will be a long process, and I recommend we simply have faith in the free market and human ingenuity that have always successfully responded to these situations in the past. Most importantly, government should reward ingenuity and profit in regard to new innovation, and should not become adversarial with the energy business, to punish them. Conservation and innovation can be rewarded by tax policies, etc., but to believe all of this should be turned over to the government to solve is the wrong tact for sure.
