Sustainable Energy Transitioner

Today oil climbed the most ever (more than $11) to a record $139.12 per barrel. Just when people began talking bubble in its price the fundamentals of struggling supply and rising non-OECD demand took control again. And it didn’t help that the dollar fell after the US unemployment rate rose a dramatic .5% to 5.5%. Gasoline at the pump will shoot past $4 per gallon this weekend and diesel may approach $5. And the record high oil prices are accompanied by skyrocketing prices for coal and natural gas as well. Coal in Europe is approaching a record $175 per ton and natural gas in New York hit $12.82 per MMBtu (the highest since December 23, 2005 after Katrina disrupted production).

Meanwhile the price of wind is stable and the price of solar is predicted to fall substantially by 2010 due to the new polysilicon supply coming online in the coming months. Purchases of US vehicles continue to diminish as Chrysler was passed by Honda in US market share and the Honda Civic passed the Ford F-Series truck as the best-selling vehicle. Airlines are raising prices, cutting routes and firing staff as their businesses become less and less profitable.

People in the US are driving less than last year but most of us have a great deal of room to improve by combining more trips, taking public transit, and bicycling when possible. Let’s accelerate the sustainable energy transition so that we, as IEA chief economist said recently: leave oil before oil leaves us. Onwards!