Last month, Schwartz Fellow Steve LeVine published two Foreign Policy articles and was featured on New America’s The Sidebar to discuss the latest in this new “Golden Age of Oil.”
All in all, say increasingly mainstream projections, the world is moving into a period of petroleum abundance, and not the scarcity that most industry hands embraced just months ago. Plus, the United States, or at least North America, may be on the cusp of energy independence while OPEC's days of über-influence are numbered.
What these experts have not said, however, is that while this new golden age may indeed shake up the currently rich and powerful and create new regional forces, it could also accelerate the swamping of the planet in melted Arctic ice. So much new oil may flood the market that crude and gasoline prices might moderate and lessen consumer incentives to economize.
What’s going to come of this new golden age of fossil fuels? How will it affect the future of sustainable energy, and what will happen to perceptions of climate change? Join Delve Thursday as we consider the geopolitical implications of this period of oil abundance. The event will feature a fantastic lineup of panelists, including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Adam Sieminski, Foreign Policy magazine’s Susan Glasser, and Past President of Shell Oil Company USA John Hofmeister. You can view more event details, and RSVP here.