Oil Crisis 101

Analysts estimate that there are a trillion barrels of oil to be found in remote places like the Arctic Ocean. But that oil will be very expensive to extract. (And it takes many years to develop these new fields.) Corn ethanol, an imperfect substitute, is blamed for driving up food prices. Tar sands and shale oil reserves, and turning coal into liquid fuel, is expected to yield small returns. It will take years, if not decades, to develop the technology and infrastructure for electric drive cars, powered either by the grid or via hydrogen.