Some people will argue that there will always be plenty of oil, thanks to new, innovative methods of detection and advanced production techniques. Some producers of crude oil, however, seem to have a more realistic assessment of the subject.
Last week the United Arab Emirates, the planet's third-largest exporter of crude oil, signed a $20 billion contract to have South Korea's KEPCO build four 1,400 megawatt nuclear power plants in the desert near Abu Dhabi. They become necessary as the energy needs of the country's 5.6 million residents can no longer be covered by oil and gas.
This is a very strong signal for Nevadans that it's time to grab the solar panels and head for the desert.
With today's technology, it takes about 35,000 square miles of solar panels - a little under 1/3 of Nevada's area - to cover the electricity needs of the world's population. Combining solar, wind and geothermal energy, we should be able to produce all the electricity needed by the eleven states between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific in an area much smaller than that. Even when all means of transportation, other than airplanes, will have to rely on electricity in one way or another.
There will still be lots of land for agriculture that can thrive on the water we will receive as part of the payments for the energy we export to other states. And we can have an industry producing the solar panels, windmills and turbines needed to harvest alternative energy. The "Made in Nevada" property should sell them worldwide the same as it sells slot machines right now.
The future tense in, "oil will be a thing of the past", no longer applies. Oil is a thing of the past. Which offers Nevada the opportunity to create a whole new economy, based on energy production, industrial manufacturing and agriculture; industries far more solid, future oriented and to be proud of than slots and sluts.
Let's catch the wave!