New Editor, New Feature, and The Price of Energy
Michael Forlenza, PG
Editor, HGS Bulletin
The September Bulletin kicks off the 2008 – 2009 year for the Houston Geological Society. As the new editor of the Bulletin, I plan to continue to provide our members with the quality publication that previous editors have delivered. I hope that you look forward to receiving the Bulletin and take some time to read through the information on the upcoming activities and meetings.
September will start off an exciting fall for the Society. The African Conference, co-sponsored by the HGS and the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain, returns to Houston with the theme, “Opportunity from Coast to Coast. ”This will be the 7th annual African Conference. It will be held at the Marriott Houston Westchase on September 8th to 10th.
As September draws to a close, activities will be ramping up for the joint convention of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, Geological Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America from October 5th to 9th. The HGS is the host society for this huge conference that will draw geoscientists from across the U.S. and around the globe. Many volunteers are needed; check the HGS website for contact information to find out what you can do to help.
Make an effort to attend one of these conferences or one of the technical meetings this fall, it will be time well spent.
New Feature — Geologic Website of the Month
Over the next several months, the Bulletin will feature websites of interest to geologists. The internet has developed into an extensive resource and repository for a wide range of information. This includes an abundance of geologic, regulatory, and mapping information found on many governmental, educational, society, and industry websites. For many geologists, online resources have become indispensable tools for our jobs. Information that once required a visit to an academic library can now be retrieved in minutes on any computer with an internet connection. While I still enjoy the tactile sensation of handling a well-crafted book and the accidental discoveries that come from a trip to the stacks, the internet has the powerful advantages of convenience, speed, and searchability.
The scope and breadth of the available geologic information on the internet is staggering. Enter the word “geology” into a search engine and more than 33 million websites are found. Whether you are interested in geology career opportunities, current events, images of volcanoes, or planetary science, you will find useful information. Do you remember the difference between the orthorhombic and the tetragonal crystal systems? Which is coarser a greywacke or a flysch? Who was Georges Cuvier? The answers to these questions and to questions you may not have even asked, are out there.
Each installment of this feature will present a brief tour of a selected geology website. Some of these websites will be straightforward sources of data while others will be more of a pleasant or interesting diversion. The month, the website of the United States Geological Survey is featured.
The Price of Energy
Unless you have spent the last 12 months working in NORAD’s underground bunker or living as a hermit on a remote mountain, you are aware of the recent rise in the price of energy. This summer, gasoline pushed past $4 per gallon in the U.S. and the price of light sweet crude surged beyond $147 per barrel in July. While the price has moderated since then, with the price of crude oil falling to approximately $125 per barrel at press time, the oil market remains tremendously volatile. The price of oil soared five-fold between the start of the Iraq war in 2003 and July 2008, and nearly tripled in the 18 months after January 2007 when a barrel of crude cost $50.48.
The rise of the price of oil has been stunning, leading to wide ranging repercussions. Oil company CEOs have been called before congress to provide an explanation for the rapid price increases. Truckers and fishermen across Europe have gone on strike, blocking roads and ports. The crippled airline industry has added baggage fees and surcharges, slashed service, and laid off thousands of workers under the staggering weight of billions of dollars of additional fuel costs. The sales of new cars and trucks fell to a 10-year low in June.
The rapid run-up in the price of a vital resource like oil sets off the search for a culprit. Who is to blame? Grandstanding politicians and media pundits wring their hands and point to a host of perpetrators, citing a new villain each week. The accused and the charges have included:
- Speculators — Rapacious financial traders are subverting the natural marketplace and reaping billions in profits. Speculators, such as hedge funds and investment bankers, are using loopholes in commodities law to manipulate the market and drive crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, and diesel fuel prices to record highs.
- China and India — The insatiable thirst for fuel from the burgeoning Chinese and Indian economies is stressing the global supply of oil leading to shortages.
- Environmentalists — Liberals and tree-huggers in the United States have tied the hands of oil companies by blocking exploration and development of the vast untouched reserves of oil under wilderness areas in Alaska and off the east coast of the U.S.
- The Dollar — The weak dollar makes imported crude more expensive and drives up commodity prices, including oil, as investors seek a hedge against the falling greenback.
- Nigerian Rebels — Violent rebel groups have destroyed pipelines and related infrastructure hampering oil production in this OPEC nation. Over the past two years, these attacks have lowered Nigeria’s typical daily oil output by a quarter.
- Iran — The escalating political and military tensions between the West and Iran, the fourth largest oil producer, is destabilizing the energy market. A potential conflict with Iran could lead to the closing of the critical supply route though the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
- Peak Oil — The view that world oil production will soon peak, and a long, slow, irreversible production decline will follow. This is the bête noire of the oil industry.
Barak Obama — A recent John McCain campaign ad indicates that the junior senator from Illinois is the cause for high gasoline pri