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Oil will not be cheap forever. It is a scarce resource that will only become even more scarce as we go hence the price inevitably will go up. In terms of Tesla

by _pdp_ 10y ago

Oil will not be cheap forever. It is a scarce resource that will only become even more scarce as we go hence the price inevitably will go up. In terms of Tesla (and electric cars for that matter), I never had the need to own a car because I happen to live in a cosmopolitan city that has a good transportation network. However, since I am now moving into the suburbs I am thinking to buy a car and I am pretty sure it will be a Tesla because electric makes sense if you happen to care about the environment. That being said, I am not convinced that electric powered vehicles are better for the environment in this very moment because 8% to 15% of the electricity is lost in transmission and electricity generation is not a zero sum game. However, this can change very rapidly if we happen to build more localised sources of energy such as local photo cells, etc. - and yes solar roofs is the way to go.

Decade 10y ago
Oil price may run into Jevons’s paradox, though. The prices are already depressed because new production outpaced demand back in 2014. I expect as oil production continues to outstrip demand, while all this production machinery is still operational, then the price will continue to plummet. Making it more attractive to use oil frivolously, like driving SUVs into pedestrians.[0] I’m not convinced that oil will become expensive quickly enough to avoid catastrophic climate change. Not without a major carbon tax. For the price to go up due to scarcity, we would need to extract the oil from our currently available reserves, leaving only the more difficult resources. It’s better for the climate if we leave the reserves where they are.[1] [0]http://www.roadpeace.org/remembering/world_day_of_remembrance/ http://www.roadpeace.org/remembering/world_day_of_remembranc... [1]https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/07/much-worlds-fossil-fuel-reserve-must-stay-buried-prevent-climate-change-study-says https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/07/much-wor...

by _pdp_ 10y ago

Decade 10y ago

Oil price may run into Jevons’s paradox, though. The prices are already depressed because new production outpaced demand back in 2014. I expect as oil production continues to outstrip demand, while all this production machinery is still operational, then the price will continue to plummet. Making it more attractive to use oil frivolously, like driving SUVs into pedestrians.[0] I’m not convinced that oil will become expensive quickly enough to avoid catastrophic climate change. Not without a major carbon tax. For the price to go up due to scarcity, we would need to extract the oil from our currently available reserves, leaving only the more difficult resources. It’s better for the climate if we leave the reserves where they are.[1] [0]http://www.roadpeace.org/remembering/world_day_of_remembrance/ http://www.roadpeace.org/remembering/world_day_of_remembranc... [1]https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/07/much-worlds-fossil-fuel-reserve-must-stay-buried-prevent-climate-change-study-says https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/07/much-wor...