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The Forum > Article Comments > Practical responses to peak oil > Comments

Practical responses to peak oil : Comments

By Peter McMahon, published 28/6/2007

Cut speed limits and get unnecessary, big, four-wheel-drive cars off the roads.

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We’ve heard it all before. There is nothing new about oil-shortage scaremongering and admonishment to use more efficient vehicles.

But what’s the point? People are still driving 4WD’s, one-up, from inner suburbs, to their jobs in the city, where they park the things all day in concrete, multi-storey monstrosities.

The author says, “Governments should…..” blah, blah, blah just like all the others before him who think (sorry, know!) they have all the answers.

The problems with these ‘answers’ is that they rely on the heavy hand of government; the good old nanny state. As if governments are going to do what Peter McMahon says they should do. They would be chucked out of office quick time.

Personally, I think that anyone who drives a car with an engine bigger than 1.5 litres is a twit. My own daughter has just taken delivery of the biggest-engined car available. But, people have to take responsibility for what happens in their society and, if we do run out of oil, tough titty.

Peter would be much better off, as would we all, by refraining from telling others what to do (and living with the consequences of what they do) and regulating his own behaviour in a way he sees fit.

From the environment point of view, oil-produced emissions and their effect on the climate and all that waffle will prove to be a hoax eventually. And, if we have to find viable alternatives to oil (as opposed to the current Mickey Mouse stuff), then the problem will be solved by free enterprise movers and shakers – not by Peter’s authoritarian nanny-state and pursed lip tutting each time we see someone driving a ridiculously overpowered and unnecessary vehicle.
Posted by Leigh, Thursday, 28 June 2007 11:12:34 AM
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The majority of modern vehicles, with 5 or 6 speed transmissions, maintain very low consumption at high speeds. In fact, highway driving is universally accepted to have lower consumption of fuel than city drivers.

Many urban anti-motor people drive increased emissions by lobbying for extra chicanes, roundabouts, humps and traffic calming which make fuel consumption higher.

Urban nimbys campaigned against the Bondi beach railway and the abandoned surface alignment of the Chatswood-epping line which had more stations.

I wonder how many of these same green crowd will support the mandating of water tanks on any townhouses/homes offered for sale or rent, or mandate that any replacement of hot water heating shall include solar as the principal heating source? I suspect that many of them are on the public tit with negatively geared investments and prefer outcomes that impose only on others, not themselves, which means they lack sincere commitment.
Posted by Inner-Sydney based transsexual, indigent outcast progeny of merchant family, Thursday, 28 June 2007 1:06:11 PM
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lis, I hope you don't try to drive 20 km below the speed limit in Victoria in school holidays. driving too slow is also a form of dangerous driving as cars desperately risk all to overtake the slow coach. besides its a traffic offense for which you can be fined.

If you can't drive at the same speed as the prevailing traffic you should hand in your license.

Our state governments haven't really addressed the fact that peak oil will make fuel more expensive thus it will cost more to drive to work, school, and play. Last night there was an report on Hack about a public transport study that showed there were 20,000 households in outer suburbs of Melbourne with household income of under $500 that ran 2 cars. Low income people have to factor the increasing cost of fuel into the costs of working. The time honoured remedy for outer suburban kids is to learn how to hitch hike.
Posted by billie, Thursday, 28 June 2007 1:31:04 PM
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Leigh, Your experience of big business much be much different from mine and mine included direct contact with many senior officers. Less than 20 years ago Westpac had to be rescued and BHP hit a very bad patch after buying Magna Copper and investing in a $2billion direct reduction plant which proved a technical failure. Of course then there was the Bell, Bond, Skase and several similar debacles and less regulation of financial markets has been a major contributor to pricing young average wage earners out the housing market unless they have wealthy parents.
How much do you really understand about the resources industry? All resources deplete and if we leave the planning to free markets we will go over a cliff!
Foyle
Posted by Foyle, Thursday, 28 June 2007 1:43:29 PM
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Our petrol prices are too low because it isn't taxed heavily enough. They neither recognize the scarcity value of oil; or correctly price in the cost of externalities (pollution costs such as healthcare; and climate change). If fuel cost the same as in Europe it wouldn't mean that we would be driving any less, it would just mean that we would be driving a more efficient fleet (Japan,Europe). The extra tax revenue would mean paying lower income tax (or we should be), which would all give us different choices about where we spent our money.

As to scarcity - Peak Oil is real. Global production has not increased for nearly 3 years and it may now never increase again. How long it can hold at 84m barrels per day is anybody's guess, but I have already changed to more efficient cars (Yaris and Golf Tdi). Anybody who thinks that oil production can increase again needs to consider this: Schlumberger, probably the most knowledgeable private sector oil exploration company in the world (these are the guys the oil companies hire when things get tough), have an oil field database that shows that 24m barrels per day of new production must be found to offset known declines from existing fields by 2010. That is nearly a whole new OPEC!.

The omens for this happening are not good. The big 5 (Shell, BP, Exxon etc) all have spent more money in looking for oil than they have found recently. That is why they have all but stopped looking. The National Oil Companies are run on a different agenda - they may not want to increase production for economic or political reasons. Then there are the wars: Iraq and Nigeria cannot produce any more oil.

I wouldn't try and find out who needs an SUV. Just tax them off the road. Anyone who really needs one will pay. They are ridiculous things anyway; and are a sure sign of hubris and excess at the top of an unsustainable cheap oil driven boom. Reality is going to smack us all in the face soon.
Posted by Saildog, Thursday, 28 June 2007 2:21:11 PM
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Foyle,

I presume you know what you are talking about. If you want to engage people in discussion, please read what they say, and don't rabbit on about things they did not even mention
Posted by Leigh, Thursday, 28 June 2007 2:40:57 PM
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