I do know about the gas solubility issue in water. The radiative forcing seems the most likely answer, but it is hampered by biased studies.

I think if you adjust those prices for inflation, the cost of drilling has come down. Of course if environmentalist had not interfered we would of replaced coal with one of the versions of fission nuclear energy. And crude is being replaced by natural gas. Organic waste breaks down into methane very quickly, so I don't think that will go away for a very long time.

CircuitGuy;

Have you heard of Milutin Milankovitch (macro climate cycles) or Henry's Law (the temperature relation of gas solubility in water) or radiative forcing? The more I study Global Warming the less likely it seems to be anthropogenic.

However, whether Global Warming is anthropogenic or not, the end of the petroleum age will come. Years ago we drilled for $10 oil, now we're drilling for $100 oil. Sometime in the near future, when other energy sources compete with oil on a cost basis, people will change and the new environmental scare will be lithium ion pollution.

The end of the world will come, but it's billions of years away, and won't be man made.

Harry;

I recommend "Beyond Oil" by Deffeyes, an easy read by a smart guy who dispels the wacko theories about the end of civilization as we know it.

As regards the Marcellus, PA's rig count is down 65% from its peak because various state and Federal agencies made it so difficult, time consuming and expensive to get drilling permits that many of us gave up and moved to more friendly states, some to Ohio, but most to Texas, where drilling permits take weeks, not years. We like to train our own in the oil industry but anyone who's worked underground would have the mechanical knowledge to learn the job. However, I've yet to meet an underground miner in the oil industry. I wonder if union miners find the mostly nonunion oilfield disagreeable. We used to fly workers in from the western US because we found it impossible to recruit in PA.

With few rigs left in the Marcellus, the nearest hive of oilfield activity in which Kentuckians might participate would be Texas, a thousand mile drive. We don't recruit much because oilfield operations are far-flung. Your boss might be hundreds or thousands of miles away, so we look for people who are self-motivated. If you can't find us or can't make a thousand mile drive, you're probably not what we're looking for, but for those willing to make the effort, Texas is the place.

The term fossil fuels is a misnomer. It only takes months for waste matter to start breaking down into natural gas. We will never run out of carbon energy unless the Sun dies. All forms of energy are solar or stellar with the possible exception of hydrothermal energy.

On top of that they are not "green" in any meaningful sense and they are not renewable in any sense either. Methane is renewable. Plant matter quickly breaks down into methane and the plant's get their energy from the sun.

Changes in energy sources in the past occurred when the market was ready to accept the advantages of lower fuel prices in exchange for investment in new energy infrastructure. Renewable technology is slowly evolving, and may soon be honestly market-competitive.

The problem is that the government has attempted to turn the market on its head by artificially driving the price of existing, plentiful fuels up, while subsidizing renewable sources. Such moves are a drain on the economy, and counterproductive, resisting market forces instead of taking advantage of them.

Even with government handouts, most of the significant renewable energy production efforts have failed entirely, or are unable to exist without taxpayer support. When these energy technologies are able to stand on their own in the market is when there will be a rapid and dependable move to renewables (wind and solar).

It's almost like a shirt that says "I am ignorant" or "I'm a vandal" since burning things for energy powers the economy but threatens the entire planet. When the fossil fuels get expensive as the get harder to reach, we'll find other ways to power our society. We'll wonder what we were thinking to push huge environmental costs on other people. The motivation for wishing the problem away will be gone, and people will clean up the mess.

Really...."We'll wonder what we were thinking to push huge environmental costs on other people. " I guess we were thinking the same thing you were when you and people of your ilk decided that you want to push the costs of unproven inefficient "Green" technology off on me. The one accurate statement you made was ...."When the fossil fuels get expensive as the get harder to reach, we'll find other ways to power our society." You are correct, We will figure it out....but not government. Government can't figure out how to make a trip to the restroom in a timely and efficient manner.

The title referred to a Forbes article about the plight of the Kentucky coal Miners.
Things change in life. People went from horse buggy carriages to cars. Oil lamps to electric lights.
Just Northeast of the Kentucky Coal Miners is the Marcellus Shale formation. Plenty of natgas drilling jobs up there.. The Coal Miners would not have to worry about Mine cave-ins like the one two years ago that cost 29 miner lives. They'd be working in sunshine and fresh air. What training for such jobs is Kentucky providing? Additionally they could be training for nuclear power and renewables manufacturing and power sources. Where is Kentucky on helping on that?
Think new trends. Think renewables energy sources.

Harry M

Agreed.

Yes. Fossil fuels
Advantage - they produce carbon dioxide which contrary to the alarmist movement propaganda, is beneficial to all life forms,
fossil fuels do not cause global warming or more hurricanes or storms or earthquakes. There is no evidence of any warming effect, the so-called theory linking CO2 to warming is shoddy.

A disadvantage is a possible very slight cooling effect on global temperatures, worth noting as the earth is entering a cooling phase, the effect is very small.