like i said...peak oil has arrived...
I spend atleast $50 a week on gas. My car is financed for the next 5 years. So when gas prices double I will be looking at atleast $400 a month. For another hundred dollars I could get myself an apartment. The only problem is...I just hope I can afford it with my car and my student loans.R00k wrote:Why is that?
Christ. I've been saying this for MONTHS and nobody has payed attention. Welcome to economics 101.R00k wrote:That article brought up a good point that I hadn't considered before....
The assumption is that once demand starts outpacing supply, oil prices are only going to skyrocket, and continue to rise until it's too expensive to buy anymore......until it's gone, for all practical purposes.
But thinking about it, once oil starts getting prohibitively expensive, companies will start putting SERIOUS reseach into alternative methods. If these new methods are affordable to consumers (a big if), then that will decrease oil demand by a huge amount.
This will probably be enough to offset and prolong the decline of modern lifestyle by quite a bit -- possibly enough to avert it. But I only say possibly in the sense that anything's possible. It would have to be affordable technology on a MASSIVE scale in order to make a dent, since oil is not only used for energy and transportation, but every piece of plastic and rubber in the world, from toothbrushes to tires.
No, you've basically said don't worry, the free market will fix everything when it gets bad. You haven't even acknowledged any of the major lifestyle changes that will have to occur as a result of all this.Fender wrote:Christ. I've been saying this for MONTHS and nobody has payed attention. Welcome to economics 101.R00k wrote:That article brought up a good point that I hadn't considered before....
The assumption is that once demand starts outpacing supply, oil prices are only going to skyrocket, and continue to rise until it's too expensive to buy anymore......until it's gone, for all practical purposes.
But thinking about it, once oil starts getting prohibitively expensive, companies will start putting SERIOUS reseach into alternative methods. If these new methods are affordable to consumers (a big if), then that will decrease oil demand by a huge amount.
This will probably be enough to offset and prolong the decline of modern lifestyle by quite a bit -- possibly enough to avert it. But I only say possibly in the sense that anything's possible. It would have to be affordable technology on a MASSIVE scale in order to make a dent, since oil is not only used for energy and transportation, but every piece of plastic and rubber in the world, from toothbrushes to tires.
I used to have a lot of faith in the free market too, but it's not magic fairy dust. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.
I'm moving closer to campus when I return to school so I can reduce my driving miles and bike everywhere I need to go. The school has a good bus system between campuses and the city has a great and cheap bus system, so I'll be able to swing it. Unfortunately, after we're both out of school, my girlfriend wants to practice rural medicine, which means I'll have to drive an ass long way to work. Hopefully she'll pay for my gas for me, but now I'm afraid I'll turn into Geoff and leech off of my woman's income while my spelling and typing skills deteriorate and and I sit around coming up with conspiracy theories in my free time.bitWISE wrote:I spend atleast $50 a week on gas. My car is financed for the next 5 years. So when gas prices double I will be looking at atleast $400 a month. For another hundred dollars I could get myself an apartment. The only problem is...I just hope I can afford it with my car and my student loans.R00k wrote:Why is that?
I wish I could reduce my mileage. I drive 110 miles a day, 5 days a week because there is absolutely nothing in my home town.werldhed wrote:I'm moving closer to campus when I return to school so I can reduce my driving miles and bike everywhere I need to go. The school has a good bus system between campuses and the city has a great and cheap bus system, so I'll be able to swing it. Unfortunately, after we're both out of school, my girlfriend wants to practice rural medicine, which means I'll have to drive an ass long way to work. Hopefully she'll pay for my gas for me, but now I'm afraid I'll turn into goof and leech off of my woman's income while my spelling and typing skills deteriorate and and I sit around coming up with conspiracy theories in my free time.
I used to do that sort of shit, too, at about 90 miles a day. It sucks, and I feel sorry for you. I did it for about a year before I moved closer to my job. When school starts this fall, I hopefully won't have to drive at all. :icon14:bitWISE wrote:I wish I could reduce my mileage. I drive 110 miles a day, 5 days a week because there is absolutely nothing in my home town.