Rob:  Well, we wouldn’t be focusing on our energy needs if we weren’t at THE BRAKING POINT; that’s the title of a new book about our country’s energy future.  Joining me now is its author, Mark Stansberry.  Well, you spelled braking with an A; B-R-A-K-I-N-G.  Why is that?
Mark Stansberry:  Well, we are at the braking point, meaning the stopping point.  We need to examine where we are, where we’re going to go, for the future.  You know, as far as America’s energy dreams, and global economic realities; are we just dreaming, or are they realities?  And that’s what we’re facing today.  We need to debate; inform the consumers.  What the book was about, being able to inform the consumer, government officials, and really be a reference for the industry itself, as well.
Rob:  Well, let’s talk about those realities, especially for Oklahoma.  Where do we stand?
Stansberry:  Right now, we stand in a great position.  We are the leader, in my opinion, in energy excellence.  But we need to keep working that direction.  Right now, not just America’s energy center, but actually the world’s center, natural gas being one of the most important parts of the energy mix, for now and to the future; I mean, if you think of companies, like Chesapeake and Devon, and so forth.  But also we need to look at the opportunities in research and development, technological advancements.  We have research universities here, OSU, OU and other universities.  We have the opportunity to be the leader in education.  And so, I think that for the next several years, we need to look at how we can broaden that expertise, and put funds in those areas.
Rob:  And when you say broaden, there are a lot of alternative energy sources now that are being explored.  Where do they fit into the mix, in your belief?
Stansberry:  Well, I believe some are short-term and many are long-term down the road.  I mean, when you think of nuclear for example, in regard to the energy mix, it costs, you know it used to be three-billion dollars, it’s five-to-twelve billion dollars, probably closer to twelve-billion dollars, now, and also, years in developing.  And some are just not economically feasible at this point in time.  So, you have to look at economics; you have to look at infrastructure, and also manpower, as well as the cost factors, of course, of developing these energy sources.  And as far as energy mix, I would still say that natural gas, right here in our own backyard, is a huge, huge factor.  
Rob:  Now, in the book you say, America’s energy dreams and the global economic realities, what are some of those economic realities we all must recognize?
Stansberry:  Well, we need to recognize that we’re short, you know, first of all we went through a depression, in the oil and gas industry for about 20-plus years, and it’s only been a few years since we’ve been out of the depression.  And, so we lack manpower.  We lack infrastructure.  We need to expand on that.  The economic realities as far as that, geo political, we’re looking at countries, like Venezuela, where Chavez is a leader there, and very threatening, Putin in Russia, we have that threat as well, throughout the world.  And so we have to look at economic realities, also geo political.  The weakening of the dollar right now has caused a big problem for us.  And how do we compete in the world?  And we are a global economy, so we have to look at it from a standpoint of, where do we fit in, in the global economy?  
Rob:  And do you see natural gas as the way that we do compete in keeping our energy system up and moving?
Stansberry:  I think natural gas is going to be, definitely, the leader, the bridge, to the future.  And I’m talking about short-term; we’re not just talking about natural gas in our own backyard too; we’re talking about liquefied natural gas.  There’s a lot of natural gas throughout the world, and we can be a leader, both in development within our country, within our state, and throughout the world.
Rob:  If you had a group of children sitting around us here, what would you tell them about what our future is as a country?
Stansberry:  In regard to energy, I think that if I were a young person right now, I’d definitely look at it from the standpoint of going to college and becoming, you know, a researcher, or whether it’s an oil and gas attorney, energy attorney, accountant.  You know, I’d look at the future as bright from the standpoint of entering and getting an educational background in energy.  Not only do we have OU, OSU, but of course the University of Tulsa and other schools within the state that I would definitely pursue.
Rob:  Now we have the books, THE END OF OIL, and TWILIGHT IN THE DESERT, both books that are predicting the end of this industry.  Do you see that happening within our lifetimes?
Stansberry:  You know, it easily could; you know, first of all in Saudi Arabia, according to Matt Simmons, you were referring to TWILIGHT IN THE DESERT, and other references that you mentioned and others that I’m aware of, there’s not really the transparency as to know what we have in reserves, and especially in the Middle East.  And sixty-two percent of the Middle East is where the reserves are as far as oil.  If, you know if you look at it from the United States point of view, in 1970 we reached our peak production in oil; it’s gone from nine-million down to five-million barrels per day.  In the Middle East, have they reached the peak, we’ve yet got to see that.  And we don’t believe they’re transparent enough to get a gauge of where they are, you know.  Could it be 2010, or could it be 2015 when we really reach that peak production?