Source: Wikipedia:Brent Spot
… the days of being able to ‘choose’ the most economic solutions are about to end. (Crude now $128.88 per barrel) Common sense now dictates that countries and individuals are best advised to seek energy options that are under their political control. Our world is just one major terrorist (or critical natural) event- from total oil crisis
When the reality hits us- of NO oil available to us (for whatever reason), the attractiveness of an independent source such as wind or solar will become much clearer. The idea of looking to external alternative sources of energy (Trini gas, hot rocks etc) is also short sighted. This is just another trap just as cheap oil has been. Our future will be one of high cost energy – what ever the source. Making decisions on energy alternatives at this stage based mainly on capital costs is short sighted indeed….. This will all become clear next year.
Comment submitted by Bush tea on 20 May 2008
The BU family is familiar with the fact that we use images to to paint a thousand words. We have written exhaustively on the failure of the Barbados leadership over the years to secure the future of Barbadians by shifting from the comfort zone policy of 100% reliance on oil.
We have been harsh in our critique because unlike other islands and countries, Barbados is renown for its excellent infrastructure, and particularly a thriving solar industry. Barbados has been further hamstrung in the quest to develop alternative sources of energy because leading commentators in Barbados have become hinged to articulating about the obstacles and consequently have failed to energize our small nation to be solution seekers. Now at the eleventh hour we hear discussions about what BL&P needs to do, what the government needs to do, we hear the private sector suggesting they are about to bring the PV solution to Barbadians. Why couldn’t we have had this discussion earlier? We now live in an era where contingency planning is par for the course. We have elected to join the world and become caught up in the tensions caused by the games being played for oil.
In our opinion this is all happening 6 years too late.
We have come to agree with Bush tea that to rely on the traditional business model to support an alternative business solution based on the accepted accounting ratios is illogical. Even if the price of oil were to drop to below $100.00 at some point in the future. historical behaviour shows that it would be false comfort. The trendline which we have inserted in the image above shows that between 1999 to the present the price of oil on the world market has been steadily rising. Consumers who are reliant on a product which reflect a price behaviour similar to that shown above, they would have shifted to a substitute product. The argument offered by Peter Wickham that most Barbadians cannot afford to retrofit their homes because of the size of the capital outlay involved is a pedantic one. We could have at minimum have made it mandatory 6 years ago that new structures, both private and commercial should have included an alternative energy option in the design.
BU want to challenge the media in Barbados to challenge the status quo on this important matter. We are willing to work with the local media to pursue this matter in the interest of our country. The stale view that the blogosphere is not a place which can be constructively engaged is passé.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.