"One Hurricane Away" From the End of Cheap Oil

Shell Oil President John Hoffmeister has been making waves lately talking about the end of cheap oil, yawning gaps between supply and demand and other apocalyptic visions that usually originate far to the left of the Big Oil establishment. In New Orleans yesterday, he told a crowd that the United States is just "one hurricane away from energy scarcity," according to the Times-Picayune. But Hoffmeister is not an adherent of the "Peak Oil" theory that says the world's geologic formations are close to being tapped out -- or depleted enough, anyway, that the remaining oil will only come slowly and at greater expense.

The demon in his nightmare is the United States government, which is limiting the access of big companies like his to domestic oil. He talks about three great securities of the American people: homeland, financial and energy security. We might add environmental to that list, and that complicates his vision of energy security. Energy Independence -- the buzz phrase of the 2008 Presidential campaign -- ought to include a healthy dose of global warming reality. Plenty of U.S. military bigwigs have come forward, at this point, to warn that unabated global warming will unsettle volatile parts of the world, decreasing America's homeland and financial security. So clearly, our energy security can't come at the cost of our environmental security -- because doing so would sacrifice the other two.

COMMENTS ()