As I drove to work this morning in my car of unknown ownership, I wondered what effect this would have on gas prices over the next couple of weeks (from CNN.com):
Continental shelves beneath the retreating polar ice caps of the Arctic may hold almost double the amount of oil previously found in the region, scientists say.
In new findings, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic may be home to 30 percent of the planet's undiscovered natural gas reserves and 13 percent of its undiscovered oil.
A team of scientists at the USGS collaborated with international researchers to conduct the first-ever comprehensive assessment of undiscovered oil and gas reserves within the Arctic Circle.
Unless a weekend of breathing ceramic tile dust and adhesive fumes has dulled my economic senses, an upward revision of future potential oil discoveries, along with it's promise of lower future gas prices, should decrease the demand for gas today and put downward pressure on as prices, oh about, now.
And another thought: might that global warming thing everyone is talking about make it easier to get to that undiscovered oil once it's discovered? Y'know, with less ice to get in the way and all. Talk about a vicious (arctic?) circle.
