Economic geologist Eric Cheney says: "The most common question I get is, 'When are we going to run out of oil.' The correct response is, 'Never.' It might be a heck of a lot more expensive than it is now, but there will always be some oil available at a price, perhaps $10 to $100 a gallon."
The article also notes that Cheney says "Changing economics, technological advances and efforts such as recycling and substitution make the world's mineral resources virtually infinite... For instance, oil deposits unreachable 40 years ago can be tapped today using improved technology, and oil once too costly to extract from tar sands, organic matter or coal is now worth manufacturing." This notion of "virtually infinite" resources is, in essence, the same paradoxical conclusion at which both Julian Simon and George Reisman have arrived.
Those who fear "unsustainable development" count up oil reserves, draw a trend line of increasing usage and predict we'll run out of oil ANY MINUTE NOW! What they consistently disregard is the role of human action in expanding the resources available, finding substitutes and turning previously useless resources (as oil was once considered to be) into resources that meet human needs. See Austrians on the Environment for more.
[Thanks Digg]
