Get ready for $4 per gallon gasoline prices and a spike in inflation warns long-time energy expert Jack Kerfoot in an exclusive interview with the NFN Radio News podcast, set to stream Monday, July 12.
Noting that oil is now at $70 per barrel, Kerfoot cited industry sources as predicting a rise to $90-$95 BBL by next year and $100/BBL by 2030, unless action to replace America's reliance on fossil fuels is successfully replaced by renewable energy, including solar and wind.
“What that will mean is that if you have a gasoline vehicle, you will be seeing your fuel cost possibly double if we’re talking about transportation," Kerfoot said. "That will mean that we will see a surge in inflation. As it is, there is a concern right now, but I think that would absolutely guarantee inflation. And, having gone through the 1980s, I remember when inflation was 15-16 and 17-18 percent. The economy is not stable. It’s a very volatile economy. It’s not healthy for the worker, it’s not healthy for businesses, and it will be an even more chaotic time than we have today.”
But America won't just feel the impact at the gas pump, Kerfoot cautions.
"The real pain from high oil prices will be for diesel for trucks transporting goods across the county, which will mean a potential spike in inflation," he says. "Although the move to electric vehicles is in the foreseeable future, the move to large trucks will take more time. Hydrogen might be a solution to fueling large trucks and machinery."
On the podcast, co-hosted by former New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio, Kerfoot is optimistic that action by the Biden administration and continued progress by the renewable energy industry, as well as impending improvements in electric vehicles, will help to ease those prices in the future and strengthen the economy.
He traces the burgeoning growth of renewable energy, including solar and wind, which he says will provide up to 1 million reliable and good paying jobs. He also has a few choice words for Donald Trump's presidency, his denial of climate change and his decimation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Kerfoot is a board member for the environmental nonprofit, Engineers for a Sustainable Future (ESF), a major transformation as he worked for more than 40 years in the oil industry.
Now, he is an outspoken advocate for renewable energy and author of the book, Fueling America, an Insider's Journey.
Kerfoot is the principal of JL Kerfoot Energy Services and blogs on his website, Our Energy Conundrum, at www.jackkerfoot.com.
Watch for the podcast beginning on Monday, July 12, for the complete interview.