The Oil Drum: Europe

62 comments on A Little History of the Affordability of Domestic Energy in Great Britain

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xeroid on June 12, 2008 - 7:57am

The graphs show clearly what we would expect from economic demand theory - increased demand as energy prices fall, plus gearing and economic growth from the more efficient use of FF.

As we move to an era of increasing energy costs the reverse will be true, unless we can find an alternative which will continue to produce adequate amounts of energy requiring a falling percentage of income year after year indefinitely.

Sadly, once started on the route of FF use we can't retrace our steps (in the UK at least) - it looks like we will simply have to live with less energy and it will likely cost a much larger percentage of our income in the short term.

IMO, since in the UK climate we must have a certain amount of energy for heating/cooking, in order to be affordable by all this minimum amount will have to be rationed at some stage. The good news is that the Government can, and is, planning for this (though not overtly since that might panic the public unnecessarily). The long and tortuous path to ID cards for all UK citizens is well under way and is the first critical step to rationing.

http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/index.asp

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tonyw on June 13, 2008 - 5:55am

FWIW, squinting at the graphs and guessing from heating oil prices it looks to me like oil has to go to about $200/barrel to be the same price in 'earnings deflated' prices as it was at the end of the 70s early 80s, i.e. an increase of about 50% over today's prices. i wonder if that is true for other countries?

On the back of cheap energy we have had cheap food allowing for more disposable wealth to buy all that essential "stuff" that we send to the landfill shortly afterwards. It seems obvious to me that this will change and no doubt give rise to calls for affordability of energy, but if it was affordable at over 6% in the mid-1960s then it is affordable at less than 6% today.

ID cards can be used for all sorts of things, thanks to Gordon Clown and Tony Liar (remember he wanted 90 days) we now face 42 day incarceration without charge, compulsory ID cards and a DNA database for all. Remember, Walter Wolfgang was arrested under terrorism legislation merely for heckling Jack Straw. Can you see a pattern emerging here? Are we going to a situation where people are chipped at birth and our every move tracked and traced?