Digger:

The US cannot possibly back away from oil and replace it with alternative energy.

From a practical point of view, it would take 15 million vehicles per year to entirely turn over the inventory of vehicles and you could not produce said number of vehicles starting tomorrow morning. Additonally, hybrid vehicles would for some time be the only realistic alternative if one desires a vehicle capable of travelling in excess of 40 to 60 miles. Full electric vehicles simply do not have the range and I doubt people are going to be willing to stop every hour and take an hour or two to charge their vehicle before resuming their travel

As for hydrogen powered vehicles, they would require not only the time for research and development of the vehicle, but also the building of an entire infrastructure to service refuelling. One cannot find a hydrogen refuelling center on every street corner at present.

Will we see gradually the development and implementation of alternatively fueled transportation? Of course. But, I doubt such can be realistically completed in total, in less than forty years.

Meanwhile, the petroleum based fuels will continue to dominate our personal transportation needs. Albeit. if looked at over the long term on a likely diminishing scale in the out years fifteen to 40 years from now. We have simply dawdeled too long in the R&D of alternatives!

The question is, will Connacher have the ability and staying power to make it to the other side of the present abyss?

Brian