If you're an oil exec, the world is a rosy place -- and I'm not talking about the pink haze of heat that's been rising from the burning American West all summer. I'm talking about energy consumption where the news just couldn't be cheerier. Despite declines in North America and Europe, according to a new study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), world consumption of petroleum products in 2012 rose to record heights, a staggering 88.9 million barrels a day. Increases in Asia in particular were impressive, as a snazzy little animated graphic of soaring global oil use, 1980-2012, at the EIA's website makes clear.
And speaking of upbeat news, there was another rosy record set in 2012 (at least, if you're an oil exec who couldn't care less about the fate of the planet): Carbon dioxide emissions leaped into the atmosphere in record quantities, 31.6 billion tons of CO2, even as U.S. greenhouse gas emissions dropped, in part because utilities were switching from coal to natural gas. Of course, significant amounts of the coal not used in this country getshipped off to places like China where it no longer counts as U.S. emissions when it heads skyward.
Anyway, put the two together and you can practically see the heat haze of an eternal summer rising on the eastern horizon. In fact, these days even the worst news for the rest of us can be good news for the energy industry. For example, the possibility of an American intervention in Syria, a spreading conflict in the region, and chaos in Middle Eastern oil markets has already helped raise the price of a barrel of crude oil above $115. An American air assault on Syrian military facilities in Damascus could send that price over $120 and cause pain at the pump in the U.S. as well. So you and I won't be happy, but oil execs will be toasting their good fortune.
In the coming years, there's likely to be no end to this sort of good news, as Michael Klare, author of The Race for What's Left, makes clear today in "Our Fossil-Fueled Future." If you thought fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions were at unbeatable levels, just wait until he introduces you to Earth 2040. If, by then, you're the CEO of a big energy company, you'll truly be in the pink. As for the rest of us, if you'll excuse the expression, we'll be in the red.