redlightning
Banned
Find a way to prevent the global cost of petroleum from rising dramatically during the first decade of the 2000s and harming the world economy.
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AHC: Prevent Global Oil Prices From Soaring
- Thread starter redlightning
- Start date
a big civil war in china maybe? prices are soaring because demand is soaring while supply is decreasing. in the past 15 years car overnership and transportation in china have increased at an unprecedented speed.
or if you prefer less blood a breakthrough in hydrogen storing and transportation so that fuel from oil can go the way of the dodo. this would also have the added benefit of freeing the west from having to deal with scumbag suppliers (russia, saudi arabia, iran and so on) because the fuel could be easily produced wherever there's water and sunlight.
or if you prefer less blood a breakthrough in hydrogen storing and transportation so that fuel from oil can go the way of the dodo. this would also have the added benefit of freeing the west from having to deal with scumbag suppliers (russia, saudi arabia, iran and so on) because the fuel could be easily produced wherever there's water and sunlight.
Slow or eliminate the growth of China, India, Indonesia, and other developing nations. China in particular has sucked up excess oil supply and kept prices high.
Hydrogen as a vehicle fuel is a nonstarter barring major technical breakthroughs and a POD long before 2000. It would require an economy with a large excess of energy to generate the hydrogen necessary to replace even a small part of the petroleum-powered vehicle fleet. Condensed natural gas (CNG) might be the better choice.
Hydrogen as a vehicle fuel is a nonstarter barring major technical breakthroughs and a POD long before 2000. It would require an economy with a large excess of energy to generate the hydrogen necessary to replace even a small part of the petroleum-powered vehicle fleet. Condensed natural gas (CNG) might be the better choice.
For some reason, Carter beats Reagan. Instead of trying to cripple the Russian economy by crashing the price of oil, Carter allows the markets to determine what the price of oil should be (slightly higher than OTL for the period). The slightly higher price means some of the energy conservation measures of the 70s continue through the early 80s, and the reduced use of oil early on means the price stays reasonable for a few years longer.
Riain
Banned
Reduce demand, spend some of the billions on the Iraq war on schemes to reduce overall oil consumption. By 2008, which the oil price spike really kicked in IOTL these sorts of projects should be completed and take some of the edge off the spike.
Transport is always a good target, and there are always projects to free up bottlenecks in the transport system, from port enhancements to railway improvements. Pick and choose some of the most profitable of these and there you have it. Alternatively even if oil prices do still soar the greater efficiency of transport improvements reduces the impact of this.
Transport is always a good target, and there are always projects to free up bottlenecks in the transport system, from port enhancements to railway improvements. Pick and choose some of the most profitable of these and there you have it. Alternatively even if oil prices do still soar the greater efficiency of transport improvements reduces the impact of this.
Whitewings
Banned
Have the oil companies actively develop thermal depolymerization plants. IOTL, it's been stuck on the back burner for years despite being a proven success, able to convert literally any carbon-hydrogen feedstock into distilled water, natural gas, Texas Light crude oil, and various separable solids, and run at a net energy gain. You can even use it to turn plastics, or even old tires back into crude oil, which can be used to create new plastics or synthetic rubber.
If we go back to 1980, have Carter beat Reagan (somehow eliminate the Iran hostage crisis?) and continue the energy conservation measures begun during the 1970s. U.S. oil consumption actually declined by almost 4 million bpd between 1976 and 1983, then began climbing again when OPEC opened the taps and dropped the price. If that decline had continued, together with energy conservation and development projects that were in the pipeline but canceled as prices dropped, global oil demand would have remained low. That would also require a national energy policy dedicated to keeping energy imports as low as possible.
Orville_third
Banned
Hussein Kamil talks to several networks including BBC after his defection. As a result, when US and UK launch Desert Fox, media outlets play the tapes where Kamil tells how Iraq's WMD were destroyed. That results in a parliamentary vote of no confidence in Blair, the successful impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton, and the end of sanctions on Iraq.
No Iraq sanctions lead to less support for Al-Quaida, thus less tension in the Mideast.
Clinton's removal (and prosecution for lying to Congress) leads to a Gore administration that is reluctant to intervene overseas. US stays out of the Kosovo War- which leads to the breakup of NATO after the bombing of Radio Television Serbia results in ICTY charges being filed against those who ordered and carried out the strike (by one Carla del Ponte). Not long after, the Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty reduces the spending of the various signatories. (Though the US, and Canada move forces back, Russia shifts to Asia, and the UK and France send more forces overseas.)
No Iraq sanctions lead to less support for Al-Quaida, thus less tension in the Mideast.
Clinton's removal (and prosecution for lying to Congress) leads to a Gore administration that is reluctant to intervene overseas. US stays out of the Kosovo War- which leads to the breakup of NATO after the bombing of Radio Television Serbia results in ICTY charges being filed against those who ordered and carried out the strike (by one Carla del Ponte). Not long after, the Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty reduces the spending of the various signatories. (Though the US, and Canada move forces back, Russia shifts to Asia, and the UK and France send more forces overseas.)
Very, very difficult. Chinese and other emerging country demand accelerated just as production and the capacity for additional production was waning. Plus the price of oil was so low in 1998 and 1999 that even if you had a reasonable forecast for either, there was no economic incentive to explore.
Best guess, Iraq revolts in the mid-90s transitioning to a stable, pro-western regime. As a result they are flooded with helpful western economic assistance and technology which frees up a lot of potential production for when China's demand accelerates. Not sure if it is enough but it would help.
Best guess, Iraq revolts in the mid-90s transitioning to a stable, pro-western regime. As a result they are flooded with helpful western economic assistance and technology which frees up a lot of potential production for when China's demand accelerates. Not sure if it is enough but it would help.
Uh, what time are we talking about? Oil prices did climb in the late 1990's, but from 2000 to 2003--which is what I'd call "the early 2000s"--they were actually relatively stable, no doubt at least in part because the recession had reduced demand.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Crude_oil_prices_in_dollar_and_euro.png
It was in the mid-to-late 2000's they increased (with an especially huge, but very short-lived, spike in the summer of 2008--people have forgotten that for a while it seemed that *that* would be the big economic issue of 2008...). That increase did not prevent the economy from prospering in 2004-2007 and probably did not play much of a role in causing the subsequent Great Recession (which was due more to housing and financial bubbles).