happy new year from BP

So, we have it on authority: We are wasting time worrying about peak oil.

LONDON - Last year's record oil prices did not indicate a shortage of supplies and will not be repeated, says the chief executive (John Browne) of British oil company BP.

Hmmmm. Wait a minute, though, didn't I recently hear something to the contrary - from BP?

BP exploration consultant Francis Harper said he estimated the world's total original usable oil resources - the amount of oil before drilling began - at about 2.4 trillion barrels of oil. This is considerably less than the 3 trillion assumed by bullish commentators such as the US government's Geological Survey. This points to oil production peaking between 2010 and 2020.

This bi-polar moment from BP is damage control. I think I need to start a notebook with the names of liars like John Browne, because we are flat past the point in history where we can play games.

I'll send it to Santa. Won't do any good. We're all gonna be stuck with a lump of coal.