Re:Why we have to have 80%+ (Score 1)

Not to be nit-picky, but definitionally demand cannot outstrip supply. Demand, economically speaking (and this is the context in which you use it), is a function of a few things, consumer desires being one, and the other chief one being ability to pay. I have no demand for a BMW due to the fact that I am unable to pay for a BMW. As oil becomes more scarce the supply curve will indeed being to steepen, but that has no effects on demand. It simply means that less oil will be consumed by the masses, and normally more expensive sources of energy will become more and more economically viable for mass-consumption. The thing that puts a kink in all of this is the fact that supply of oil is restricted by an oil cartel called OPEC. All they're doing is hastening the approach to the point where oil is no longer economically viable by restricting the supply artificially. In short, your statements about demand are patently false. Repeat with me: demand is not synonymous with quantity demanded and I will refrain from making economic statements until I realize this. I have no qualms consuming oil as I know that alternative technologies exist currently, and that as oil becomes more and more expensive these technologies become relatively cheaper to people, who consume them, which funds the company who are able to research and expand and reap the benefits of economies of scale making their technologies cheaper in greater numbers until oil becomes economically non-viable. That being said, were I company investing in something oil-dependant that will take 20, 30, or 40 years to get good returns, I'd be hesitant to do so. Things like cars, home heating, etc are relatively short lived (5 years on average for cars, a little more for home furnaces/stoves), and will be replaced as time goes on anyway. There is no oil crisis.