Just heard a news broadcast that some think-tank predicts that crude oil will spike at around $100USD per barrel in the very near future ... jeesuz this is disturbing news ... gasoline is already too expensive ... ain't gonna be a fun Summer ...
Anyhoo, the skyrocketing cost of petroleum has deeper implications ... if the price gets high enough, the economies of the industrialized nations (USA, Canada, Japan, UK, etc.) could be driven into a deep recession, if not an outright depression as high energy prices kick inflation into high gear and unemployment rises ...
What I fail to understand, is why the governments of the G7 Countries failed to realize that economic growth could not be sustained indefinitely, seeing that said growth is fueled by a diminishing, non-renewable, increasingly expensive energy source, the bulk of which resides beneath the ground of potentially hostile areas of the world! Are we stunned or what? Shouldn't we have seen this coming?
What the G7 need to do NOW, is throw their combined intellectual and financial resources into a "Manhattan Project" scale initiave to come up with a viable and affordable alternative to oil as a fuel for industry and transportation ... before it's too late ...

Greg, any gasoline engine can be converted to run on Propane ... but that ain't cheap either ...
I think that Brazil has had some success with ethanol fuels for normally gasoline powered vehicles though ...
I'm interested in what you all think might be the near-future outcome and/or potential ramifications of sustained high oil prices on the "North American" way of life ...

Never happen.  Oil producers know where their bread and butter is.  Even a small percentage decrease in usage would send oil prices crashing.  Raising the price that much would surely put a big dent in consumption.

It costs about $19 per barrel to extract oil from the most costly source, tar sands.  Oil companies are making money hand over fist and are just trying to find the 'I can't bear it no more' point.  When they hit it, the increases will stop.

Alternatives are out there but until the pain is too much to bear, you won't see them.

I have a friend that runs his VW diesel on vegetable oil.  He collects it for free, filters it and then burns it for fuel in his car.  I think the conversion kit was about $750.  I am sure he has saved more than that by now.

GE bought out a divison of Chevron that is working on fueling an electric generating station with 'liquid coal'.  GE is putting a lot of its own money into building a plant to prove out the technology.

I also read about a solar powered motor that drives an alternator to produce electricity.  The list is long ...

Then there is the new wave of nuclear technology which is projected to be as cost effective as coal fired generation.  Alternatives are out there; it all comes down to cost.
 
The price of oil is where it is because they can get it.  
Everyone ride more and bring down gas prices!

dk

My car gets 34-39 mpg (city or highway)...so even when I'm not on the motorcycle the gas prices aren't too bad for me.

Ethanol is not a possible replacement.  The energy density of the crops is much less than the solar heat stirling engine dssaak alluded to.

Nightrain wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:04:


Now, you actually have a good idea.  I wonder how long you could run on just the posts on this forum  ???

And I heard that cattle produce a lot of methane too.

I did not know that....interesting.