Oil prices ended the year at $75/bbl. (WTI Intermediate) and natural gas about $3.73/MCF. This is a huge improvement from last year as the economy makes recovery from the collapse associated with the Covid-19 epidemic.
But with the anti-oil sentiment and government attempts to shut down the very engine of our economy with no clear idea how we provide an alternative, what future does oil have? So at the end of the year, I have few answers and I expect none from the questions I now ask the “Greenies”.
How do you drive your low slung E car over roads that are not made of a petroleum product – asphalt? With gravel roads the future…are they tough enough? A chug hole cost buy Tesla owner $2200 for a new tire and wheel.
What are you going to use to lubricate things with?
How much more cotton and wool will have to be produced and at what cost in fuel and energy, to replace the polyester, Dacron, and nylon materials common today? The elastic in your underwear and socks. If cows are sacred and synthetics are made from oil, what are your shoes, cosmetics, paints, fertilizers, and a million other products going to be possible? What does a non-plastic, non-oil based ballpoint pen look like? A digital camera? A smart phone? A chair or couch?
What impact is mining over 100x the lithium, cobalt and nickel that we use today going to have on the environment? And how do you mine lithium 24/7 in an electric tractor, move ore in an electric truck, and process it in a carbon free plant?
How do you feed the world without fertilizer? Who gets to live? Who gets to die? That’s the real question.
In short, the greenies have no answers because most of them can’t think past their noses. The slow transition from oil to other items will happen worldwide and efforts to speed up the process will be doomed to fail.