04/20/10 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – This Icelandic volcano is not just a quaint story about some faraway place.
The most immediate, and most public, effect of the Icelandic volcano is that transatlantic flight has reverted to the pre-Charles Lindbergh days. Basically, there is no more flying to and from Europe across the North Atlantic. And so, the airline industry is losing about $200 million in revenues per day, while stranding millions of passengers.
According to Eurocontrol, which operates the airspace in Europe, about 20,000 flights per day are canceled. By my back-of-the envelope calculation, that translates into about 1.5 million barrels of jet fuel per day that’s not being burned to power airliners. That’s just shy of 2% of total daily world oil demand. So with this fast hit to demand, it’s no wonder that the price of oil has dropped about $4 per barrel in the past week…
Meanwhile, world trade is suffering. Perishable items, from flowers to exotic fish and fruits, are rotting on the loading docks… Chinese auto assembly lines are slowing down due to lack of electronic components from Germany. There are reports of mass layoffs in nations as far apart as Kenya and Colombia, due to the inability to export goods via airfreight to Europe. Then consider all the personal and business disruptions and expenses from casual and business travelers unable to fly.
Can the world economy take this hit? And it’s going to continue for how long? Nobody knows. Or put another way, do YOU want to be on the first airliner to fly through an ash cloud?
Byron King
for The Daily Reckoning
Byron King
Byron King is the managing editor of Outstanding Investments and Energy & Scarcity Investor. He is a Harvard-trained geologist who has traveled to every U.S. state and territory and six of the seven continents. He has conducted site visits to mineral deposits in 26 countries and deep-water oil fields in five oceans. This provides him with a unique perspective on the myriad of investment opportunities in energy and mineral exploration. He has been interviewed by dozens of major print and broadcast media outlets including The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, MSN Money, MarketWatch, Fox Business News, and PBS Newshour.
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FOR BYRON KING
DEAR BYRON–AS TO THE ASH PROBLEM–WE
HAVE A –NIKOLA TESLA SOLUTION–TO BE
INITIATED AT NO CHARGE. IATA, EUROCONTROL
AND THE ICELAND GOVERNMENT,DO NOT WANT TO EVEN TALK ABOUT IT.SAME OLD STORY–THE
PEOPLE AT THE TOP ARE TERRIFIED TO THINK
OUTSIDE OF THE BOX.GOD FORBID THAT OUR
–TESLA SOLUTION–DID NOT WORK, AND ONE OF THEM LOOKED FOOLISH,IT WORKS FOR GREEN
HOUSE GASES, SO WE EXPECT IT TO WORK FOR
VOLCANIC ASH.AND THE PRICE IS RIGHT.THE
RECOGNITION ALONE WILL CREAT A WHOLE NEW
TESLA TECH BASED INDUSTRY. EMAIL ME–AND
YOU MAY HAVE THE STORY OF A LIFETIME
THANK YOU PETER H JONES.