A Big Shift

I remember as a boy reading predictions that the world would run out of oil in 10 years.

That was over 30 years ago. But what's more surprising is the prospect of a huge shift in which regions of the world control the most oil:

Amy Myers Jaffe of Rice University says in the next decade, new oil in the US, Canada and South America could change the center of gravity of the entire global energy supply.

"Some are now saying, in five or 10 years' time, we're a major oil-producing region, where our production is going up," she says.

The US, Jaffe says, could have 2 trillion barrels of oil waiting to be drilled. South America could hold another 2 trillion. And Canada? 2.4 trillion. That's compared to just 1.2 trillion in the Middle East and north Africa.

Skip the article's human interest aspect. This isn't about North Dakota, it's much bigger than that. The section that starts with Jaffe's comments is the real story.

What's the most valuable non-fuel mineral commodity?

I love questions like this: they help students see there's a whole world waiting for them beyond the consumer products they know so well because they're bombarded with advertisements.

The world's most valuable non-fuel mineral commodity? Guess first, then take a look...