Olympic Oil
Record high oil prices started coming down a few weeks ago after hitting a record of more than $147. Today, the Olympic Games opened in Beijing with Chinese officials lauding pollution control efforts. Those efforts they claim, have reduced smog and particulate matter in the city.
Smog and pollution have been a concern of the Beijing Olympics for years, but China insisted their authoritarian approach to governance provided them the unique ability to force pollution reductions. And they did. The Chinese restricted automobiles in the capitol city, reducing traffic by half, limiting cars to an odd-even calendar schedule. They shuddered factories and limited other pollution generating businesses. And by reducing pollution, China is also reducing their energy consumption.
In two weeks, the Olympic games concluded, Beijing will likely be back to business as usual. Automobile traffic will double as everyone is once again allowed to drive. Factories will hum back to life, and many of the temporarily shuddered businesses will open. And all of a sudden, like a giant light switch, China will be once again thirst for oil.
China is a country of great size. Everything it does is huge-- a giant wall, giant reservoirs, and a giant reduction in energy for the Olympic games. The magnitude of China's energy consumption could be resulting in the temporary reprieve in the price of oil, and if so, then cheap "Olympic Oil" is not here to stay. The great engine of China will be turned back on in two weeks, and then the world will know.
Smog and pollution have been a concern of the Beijing Olympics for years, but China insisted their authoritarian approach to governance provided them the unique ability to force pollution reductions. And they did. The Chinese restricted automobiles in the capitol city, reducing traffic by half, limiting cars to an odd-even calendar schedule. They shuddered factories and limited other pollution generating businesses. And by reducing pollution, China is also reducing their energy consumption.
In two weeks, the Olympic games concluded, Beijing will likely be back to business as usual. Automobile traffic will double as everyone is once again allowed to drive. Factories will hum back to life, and many of the temporarily shuddered businesses will open. And all of a sudden, like a giant light switch, China will be once again thirst for oil.
China is a country of great size. Everything it does is huge-- a giant wall, giant reservoirs, and a giant reduction in energy for the Olympic games. The magnitude of China's energy consumption could be resulting in the temporary reprieve in the price of oil, and if so, then cheap "Olympic Oil" is not here to stay. The great engine of China will be turned back on in two weeks, and then the world will know.
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