anwr
alaska's national wildlife refuge is also the home of some ummy yummy oil. how much oil isn't known exactly. estimates of recoverable barrels range from 600 million to 9 billion. which would last the world somewhere between one week and three months. heh. should we drill it and use it? finite resource games are pretty interesting to play. the winner is the one who managed to consume his resources last. he gets to dictate the price. and ends the game with all of the money. if you start the game with the most resources, your best strategy is to maximize the rate at which the product is consumed. then raise prices as soon as the other players' supply can't keep up with the demand. they'll face intense pressure to consume the last of their resources. and you win. on the other hand, the strategy for everyone else is to hold their resources as long as possible. like a hostage. as long as the bank robber (the us) has a hostage (anwr oil) the police (opec) have to cooperate. as soon as the bank robber (the us) harms (drills) the hostage (anwr oil) the advantage shifts to the police (opec). clear as crystal (mud), right?