Whether said employees are parents is irrelevant to the calculation.
Is this a new trend, to describe every worker as a "parent?" It reminds me of the way they now refer to every housing unit as a "home," instead of a house, townhouse, apartment, etc.
The author of this article is just not paying attention.
On the supply side —the US for the last three years has increased oil production by 1 million barrels a day annually. For at least the next two years oil production will increase by 1 million barrels @ day annually.
Many analysts believe that the USA will be a net exporter of oil by 2020.
On the demand side large numbers of trucks and busses are switching over to natural gas and fuel economy of gasoline driven cars increase. The two factors together are causing demand for gasoline to decline even as the economy expands.
The net result of declining demand and rising supply will be falling prices...its inevitable.
Out beyond 5 years is the electric car. Tesla is forcing the major car companies to invest heavily in electric cars. If Tesla can build a 30k electric car that can go at least 200 miles on a charge in 2016—then volumes on the electric car will ramp up sufficiently to eat into demand for oil.
Shell oil has put out a paper on the future of energy demand. Shell believes that the demand for oil will peak in 2030 and by 2040—the demand for oil will start to decline.
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Shells-Predictions-for-the-Future.html
The real answer to undercutting world oil prices is natural gas. Much of the gas from shale deposits in this country have not been produced for various reasons one of which is the collection pipelines have not been built.
The state of WV is working on using natural gas for state vehicles. Tax credits. Ideally tax credits should be offered for both natural gas and multi-fuel vehicles including conversions of existing ones.
Why worry about the oil companies making a few buck when we have Government ordered health care coming along to bankrupt us.
Obamacare is going to kill business.
It is all about $ per (million) BTU. Yes, that archaic unit of measure.
Compared that way, oil is 6 times more expensive than natural gas. The shift to natural gas for fixed industrial and commercial consumption has already occured. Next is the vehicle shift to natural gas, whether compressed of liquid. This is ongoing. After that natural gas becomes a feedstock to produce diesel fuel.
Airplanes, marine shipping and rail will likely be the last to convert; if ever to a natural gas fuel. Plus many personal vehicles will stay oil based.
So Shell is correct, oil consumption will peak in our children’s lifetime.