Thoughts on Oilprice vs Climate Change

When the price of crude crossed $139 a barrel in June, it was the highest sign that the end of the Age of Oil was on the horizon. Hydrocarbons have had a remarkable run, fueling more than a century of economic expansion that has spread from the Old World to the New World, to the emerging powers of Asia and beyond. Geologists and economist may argue over exactly when global production of oil will peak, but few disputes that the era of cheap oil is over. Some say the peak is expected to happen within a couple of month, some in year 2012.

No companies will feel the dislocation more intense then the carmakers, and they have been slow to adjust. Their recent enthusiasm for hybrids and other fuel saving vehicles cant mask their continued obsession with gas-guzzling trucks and sport utility vehicles. “The car-based culture, the business-as-usual of building cars and trucks, is going to change dramatically” said Toyota Motor Corporations executive Bill Reinert earlier this year in an interview with Bloomberg.

The scarred earth will never recover from all the damage that humans have made trough driving cars and other vehicles. And as the price of oil rises, the cost to the planet in terms of environmental degradation also spirals unavoidably higher. Can car companies follow this?

Last year Environment was put as a subject in some school’s timetables around the United States, despite that fact, America is one of the worst countries when it comes to environmentally friendly policies and developments.

Can Al gore, and other politicians, with thier pro-environment policies help to recover the world’s environment? And can a result of this be lower oil prices?