Oil is not so much about the money as it is about control. Control the oil (energy), control the masses.  A single source of limited, controllable energy is vital to the ability to control people, wealth, geo-politics. What is the most profitable venture known to mankind? War. What have all the wars over the last twenty-five years been about? Oil.

There are some excellent documentaries out there by Nobel prize winners discussing tapping geo-thermal energy and getting absolutely unlimited free engery It would end all poverty, all polution, all hunger. We just have to realize this system we are working under is rigged to benefiet a very, very small number of people.

Quote - War. What have all the wars over the last twenty-five years been about? Oil.

Let's see. Twenty-five years, that's 1989. What's been going on since 1989?

Georgian Civil War (1989-1993) and subsequent conflicts. No oil.

Western Sahara War (escalation in 1989 until ceasefire in 1991). No oil.

US invasion of Panama. No oil.

Mauritania-Senegal Border War (1989-1991). No oil.

Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988-1994). No oil.

That's 1989. Then we get into the 1990s and the mess in the Balkans (no oil there either).

That's just the start of your 25 year timeframe. Would you like to try again?

Quote - Heck by the reasoning of people losing money, I'd be more inclined to suspect the government. Think of how much money it would lose from the taxes it imposes on businesses, industries and individuals if oil consumption and use did drop. Look back over the last few years when oil prices went up. People started driving less and using less gasoline. States needed to raise taxes on gas again, (making it even more expensive). You can imagine what they would do if that source of revenue was threatened for good. And governments DO kill.

And governments are even less likely. Sure, less revenue from taxes. But probably more than offset by their reduction in costs.

You know what's the single most critical logistics issue for modern militaries, even more than bullets? Energy. Everything from the batteries in the night vision scopes and radios to the juice needed to run ships and military bases. Someone comes up with a way to power that stuff without petroleum, the military would be all over that. It's one of the reasons militaries are pumping a ton of R&D into things like alternate power supplies, why bases are installing solar cells and wind turbines and geothermal heating, why they try and sqeeze fuel efficiency out of everything they can. It isn't because of concern for the environment, it's because fuel is such a huge freaking cost and logistical issue.

And that's just military. Now consider all those government vehicles, all those government buildings, all that energy use that they have to pay for. Someone came up with a genuine, viable, alternative? They'd be using it all over the place.

And there's no way you could keep that secret if you had some revolutionary "free energy" technology. People would have to be using it, people would be maintaining it, people would be developing it. And humans being humans, people would talk about it.

Area 51 syndrome. A secret facility that's not so secret.

I'm sorry. but on this planet we observe the Laws of Thermodynamics.......

This has gone about far enough. The personal attacks (deleted) have begun, and especially since it's off topic I'm calling a halt. I have enough cats to herd in Poser related threads.