"Energy abundance depends entirely on the RATE of energy flow ... Why is the rate of flow the key metric? Because in order to function the
global economy depends entirely on continuous, high-quality energy
inputs ... Modern global society has become like a shark. It either keeps barreling forward or it dies ... Shale natural gas and tight oil drillers face a task similar to climbing
up a down escalator. Each must replace enormous fractions of their
current production frequently just to keep production flat. A path to
persistently rising global production of oil and gas far into the future
cannot be built on production from such fields ... But, attempts to extract natural gas from methane hydrates should more
properly be compared to the search for methods to extract oil profitably
from the vast oil shale deposits in the western United States. After more than a century of trying, no one has been able to produce oil commercially from these deposits ... How high must prices go before extraction of either will be
profitable? So far, the answer is higher than what people will pay and
therefore what the economy can stand. And, at what rate will we be able
to get these resources out? Rate is the crucial question."
Zum Artikel von Kurt Cobb, erschienen auf Resource Insights (28. April 2013) »
Zum Artikel von Kurt Cobb, erschienen auf Resource Insights (28. April 2013) »
