Common Sense on Energy

This is one of the best commentaries I have seen in quite some time on the issue of energy, price of oil, environmental concerns, and the economic situation in the United States.

Interestingly it comes out from a small regional newspaper in a non-energy state (Minnesota).

This is the link. I did not know that cheap oil made Sweden rich; I knew that was true for Norway, but not Sweden. That alone made me read the entire article. (Unfortunately, this is a regional newspaper, and the link will be broken in a few days; available only through subscription or charge.)

Unfortunately, I assume for most of the readers of this blog, this will be the preacher talking to the choir.

*********

Yes, the link is now broken; actually not quite true; the link will take you to the original site but it will cost you to access the story.

The abstract is listed here.

The Swedish author noted that in 1945, none of the four small farms in his small Swedish village used oil for anything. But between 1945 and 1970, Sweden increased its use of energy by a factor of five, or nearly seven (7) percent per year for 25 years. "That journey into the oil age transformed Sweden from a rather poor country into the third wealthiest country (per capita) in the world. Ninety percent of the energy increase came from oil. Cheap oil made Sweden rich."

The author then asks reader to consider China which has 21 percent of the world's global population. It consumes eight (8) percent of the global oil supply, and "thinks it is fair to claim 21 percent, or 18 million barrels per day." That was written back in 2006.

China consumed 8 million barrels/day in 2008 and international energy analysts expect China's consumption to more than double to 17 million barrels/day by 2030. It's hard to believe it will take that long.