Oil price bubble about to burst
Hopefully, some analysts are correct in saying that current sky high oil prices are on the way down. A sharp fall is just ahead, if the views of analysts who talked to Businessweek last week are to be believed. Analysts, Businessweek reports, say that the oil market looks overheated, and a number of factors could puncture the price bubble.
That’s not difficult to believe. It is well known that speculators have been playing a key role in driving up crude oil prices this year. While global demand remains strong for now, worries about an economic slowdown, lower demand arising from the spiraling prices could prompt speculators to flee the market quickly. If that happens, prices could drop even more dramatically than they’ve risen.
Who really knows what will happen next? According to Businessweek, some analysts say the psychological impact of $100 oil could mark the beginning of a slip in prices. “The professionals will get out of the market at $98.50 or $98.99,” Peter Beutel, president of the energy risk management firm Cameron Hanover, told Businessweek. He thinks the oil market is due for a correction and the serious threat of a recession could take 40 percent off oil prices.
If oil prices are trying to mimic the bad old days of the 80s, prices will start to fall as demand responds to price signals. But for now, all these can be just wishful thinking. We are being made to choose between rising oil prices but fairly bullish economies or a drastic fall in oil prices brought about by economies in recession.
Then again, no new major oil field has been discovered in the last 40 years. With increased demand from emerging economies, the long-term outlook for oil will have to be beyond the $100 barrel.
And if you still think $100 oil is scandalous: the New York Times points out “even at today’s highs, oil is cheaper than imported bottled water, which would cost $180 a barrel, or milk, at $150 a barrel.” Indeed, oil is too precious to burn as fuel and the earlier we find viable alternatives, the better for us all.
Knowledge Channel
Last Friday, the USAID and the Knowledge Channel Foundation turned over educational television (ETV) facilities to the
The program has so far provided 150 public schools in conflict-affected areas in ARMM and Regions 9 and 12 with access to ETV programs covering the DepEd’s basic learning competencies in Math, Science and English. Some 78,529 students are enjoying the benefits of Knowledge Channel in the most remote and isolated areas of
In the
Among notable successes was the
Parent Teachers and Community Associations of 16 schools in
Some local government units have also supported the project by paying their schools’ electric bills, improving KCh viewing rooms by repainting or decorating these, providing floor mats for children to sit on, and most important, maintaining and ensuring the safety of the ETV infrastructure with the help of barangay tanods.
I guess the success of KCh was a major inspiration of DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus in launching his CyberEd program. KCh showed children as well as their teachers in the most remote islands can learn from educational television like their Manila counterparts, in effect equalizing teaching and learning opportunities.
This makes me think that perhaps a more viable approach for Secretary Lapus is to follow the KCh strategy and pilot test his CyberEd program in stages, emphasizing first the development of software instead of committing to spend a horrible amount of money on high tech delivery infrastructure.
It seems to me that it is more important to first develop those so-called “super teachers” as well as DepEd’s ability to produce teaching modules. The modules can be tested by airing them in KCh and reproducing them in CDs for distribution to schools not yet reached by KCh. The so called two way satellite-based system is after all, not yet needed at this stage, nor is it practical given its high cost and DepEd’s other priorities.
The expensive satellite system can come in later after DepEd has demonstrated the need for it and its capability to manage it. But the concept behind CyberEd, improving the quality of instruction in all public schools, is valid. KCh has just proven it and KCh operates on a shoestring budget… certainly nowhere near the P26 billion CyberEd requires.
Bad air days
A reader from
AMEN RAMON ... Help HELP help HELP… the air is choking everyone to death. The brain needs some oxygen and this is why half of
Very little deep thought processing or very analytical thinking can be done unless there is enough oxygen to make the brain work 100 percent. The executives in
This is supposed to be clean air month according to the DOTC bossman recently. So what does the government do for clean air month? Plant some trees.
How about getting the junk buses that only run at night as they would be caught is they run during the day? The flying squads should be out at the
Yes Ramon this place is maybe beyond help as the brain dead is unable to see what clean air is like in
Dry is dry
Gilbert Jose emailed this one.
It’s so dry in
Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]
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