Cheaper oil?

I read today an article on Forbes.com that was talking about the future prices of Oil. I have to say that some of what he says makes sense about finding new sources of oil will help to keep the price down even if OPEC cuts back production. But I think that the article is missing a few points that contradict the idea that everything is fine.

1. Oil is not a renewable resource. At some point we will end up running out of oil and the narrow minded view that we have plenty of time before that happens is a recipe for disaster. The push towards finding alternative power sources to run cars and making cars more fuel efficient has finally been brought to the forefront because of the high gas prices this summer. The idea that

"don't sell that SUV just yet. Oil, at a recent $66.50 a barrel, will fall to $45 by mid-2007 and could dip briefly into the 20s in 2008."

is telling people not to try and conserve the resources that we have. I find this irresponsible to make this statement when there is no crystal ball out there to confirm what will happen in the future. OPEC will not stand for the prices falling farther and farther. Currently, no one can compensate quick enough to offset the production cuts that OPEC can make.

2. It is well known that many terrorist groups are being funded by these Oil producing countries. This is a huge reason why we need to cut our dependency on Oil so that the terrorist do not continue to get the funds that they need. I will agree that the cost of Oil is inflated by the geopolitical issues that threaten oil production and supplies. The idea that these will calm down is absurd. We may have periods of relative calm but with the new escalated violence from terrorist groups, I doubt that we will be seeing calm anytime soon. And now we are faced with North Korea testing nuclear weapons.

Technorati Tags: Oil, OPEC, world issues