Quote:
Originally Posted by djplong
...The basic problem is that every single "new" technology can be thwarted by a sudden dip in oil prices. They all, universally, take a lot of capital up front and depend on the price of oil styaing relatively higher in order to justify the investment in time and capital.
So, some Saudi sheik turns up the spigots a bit, the prices fall and investors scurry back, afraid to make long-term expensive energy commitments.
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Yep, that's likely to happen. But again, our government can take action to incent people and companies to reduce their reliance on imported oil and invest in alternative technologies. A gas tax designed to keep the price of gasoline at a high level would largely neuter OPEC's expected manipulation of oil prices when their gravy train is threatened. Maybe we should use the additional tax receipts to fund the cost of the Defense Department's defending the flow of oil from those Middle Eastern countries.