Because of this, coal miners looked down on shale miners, not that it bothered the shale miners, who were allowed the luxury of smoking at the bottom of the pit shaft. The implication of a discount in producers down to EV/EBITDA levels of 3, 4 & 5x implies a massive haircut to reserves value, where they are essentially zero beyond a few to several years of operating horizon. For Sabah, the state reserves is estimated to be RM6 billion, and forking out RM8.6bil to buy 1% equity in Petronas will make the state bankrupt. This is what drives economic growth in industrialized countries, and it will soon be the basis for growth in the so-called developing world. For those concerned about world peak oil production (and peak natural gas and coal, for that matter), none of the above responses seem adequate or, in some cases, entirely ethical, especially with regard to environmental effects such as global warming.

Much of this is transformed into electricity, of which 60% goes to gas­fired power plants, specifically towards the industry, transport, and chemical/petrochemical sectors (12% for fertilizer production). By the time he moved on to his next job, the bull market had made most of them much richer. Some companies that promote oil industry sustainability have also introduced sanitation solutions that don’t damage the environment as much as conventional chemicals and materials employed during the cleaning process of oil drilling equipment. During his opening speech, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad pointed to the previous National Integrity Plan introduced in 2004, aimed at inculcating a culture of integrity among the people, which he said did not really help in curbing corruption. 5. National authorities verify environmental protection measures, safety provisions, emergency preparedness of rigs and platforms. They hired attendants or kept slaves who did nothing but follow them around. Anyone who could hire others to do nothing, that is to enjoy their master’s leisure vicariously, surely must be a person of some station.

At the height of ancient Rome, we are told by Thorstein Veblen in his classic, The Theory of the Leisure Class, powerful and well-to-do Romans exhibited their status through displays of vicarious leisure. But beyond a certain point wealth goes into displays of social status. In today’s mass society status is now routinely communicated through the display of possessions, the sight of which can reach so many more people. 50 million or more. But he has decided to redirect those drives toward making his mark as someone who helps human societies become more sustainable. He explained it this way: He said he knows his “relative fitness drives” (which lurk behind the culture of envy) can’t be extinguished. Such drives are a part of every human. This explains why for most of history envy has simply taken its place alongside the list of perennial sins that have occupied human beings from the dawn of the species.

The Oil & Gas industry is extremely lucrative and a great place to be as the strengthening economy and overseas growth will continue to make prices go higher. If this is the case, how come the peak oil story and the many warnings about such responses to our energy challenges aren’t center stage in the American consciousness? But, once they pass beyond the stage of want, they move directly into the whirlwind of ever-expanding, unquenchable consumer desire born of envy. And, so the wealthy live under the perpetual sway of envy. And, with these developments came a society whose central emotion is envy. The question then for a future with ecological limits becomes: What shall we do with this powerful force of envy which has been awakened across the globe? The government did take steps to regulate the future market from excessive speculation by setting up the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 1974. Unfortunately, the CFTC was limited to overseeing trades on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).