Awash in oil money, and problems

Energy Hunt: Fort McMurray was a sleepy town on the Canadian frontier until oil transformed it into a boomtown with tons of opportunities - and concerns.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/10/news/international/velshi_oil_sands_boomtown/index.htm

[quote="yunowu"]Energy Hunt: Fort McMurray was a sleepy town on the Canadian frontier until oil transformed it into a boomtown with tons of opportunities - and concerns.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/10/news/international/velshi_oil_sands_boomtown/index.htm[/quote]

Everybody knows that our generation (25-75) are the greed society of Earth's impending distruction. My worry is about my 10 and 12 year old's future. Yes it's currently acceptable to rip, cut, grow and invade other countries (directly or through chattel) for our energy needs. But are Amercan people willing to conserve, take individual sacrifices, accept different techologies, and make difficult choices for our kids?

Doubtful.. from what I hear around this joint.

By Ed Crooks
Published: July 11 2008 19:09

To appreciate the achievements of the North Sea oil industry, you really need to go offshore, flying an hour or more in a cramped helicopter above the churning waters that lie between Scotland and Norway.
Cat’s-cradles of pipework, planted on the sea bed up to 600 feet below, the platforms are awe-inspiring feats of engineering. They are also fraught with hazards. Last weekend, memorial services commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Piper Alpha explosion, the world’s worst offshore disaster, in which 167 were killed.
Yet for all the skill and bravery of the workforce, the industry is fighting a losing battle: the North Sea is in terminal decline. The challenge now is how to squeeze out as much oil and gas as possible before the wells finally run dry. With crude prices above $147 a barrel yesterday, any extra output would be more lucrative than ever – but is the industry there in shape to deliver?
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/21ffd340-4f74-11dd-b050-000077b07658.html

By Carola Hoyos
Published: July 9 2008 19:42
Paolo Scaroni swivels round on the cream-coloured recliner towards his two fellow passengers on the Falcon 900 flying over the west coast of Sicily and says: “Now I will give you a short history lesson, if you don’t mind.” The chief executive of Eni, the Italian oil company, begins to summarise a century of Italy’s often fraught relationship with Libya.
He explains that among the Libyans Italy exiled to the Tremiti islands during its occupation of the north African country that began in 1911 was the grandfather of one Shokri Ghanem. Mr Ghanem is the head of Libya’s national oil company and the man Mr Scaroni is on his way to see.
That respectful awareness, along with the frequency with which he travels to see Mr Ghanem – 19 times last year alone – illustrates how the power relationships have shifted between the two men, between their countries and between international oil groups, such as Eni, and state entities such as Libya’s National Oil Corporation. As oil prices have risen to a record $140 a barrel, 14 times what they were a decade ago, oil- and gas-rich national energy companies have taken the driver’s seat and are exploiting their new-found power...
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/215e812c-4de2-11dd-820e-000077b07658.html