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U.S. Oil Boom
This is our 'deal with the devil'. We will achieve economic recovery at the expense of the environment. Twenty years from now people will look back and wonder whether it was worth paying off our debts and maintaining our standard of living at the expense of the planet.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/high-gas-prices-persist-despite-us-oil-boom-1C9007042#/business/high-gas-prices-persist-despite-us-oil-boom-1C9007042
"The U.S. is increasing its oil production faster than ever, and American drivers are guzzling less gas.....U.S. oil output rose 14 percent to 6.5 million barrels per day last year — a record increase. By 2020, the nation is forecast to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's largest crude oil producer. At the same time, U.S. gasoline demand has fallen to 8.7 million barrels a day, its lowest level since 2001, as people switch to more fuel-efficient cars.....U.S. drivers are competing with drivers worldwide for every gallon of gasoline. As the developing economies of Asia and Latin America expand, their energy consumption is rising, which puts pressure on fuel supplies and prices everywhere else.
The U.S. still consumes more oil than any other country, but demand is weak and imports are falling. That leaves China, which overtook the U.S. late last year as the world's largest oil importer, as the single biggest influence on global demand for fuels. China's consumption has risen 28 percent in five years, to 10.2 million barrels per day last year.....U.S. refiners are free to sell gasoline and diesel to the highest bidder around the world. In 2011, the U.S. became a net exporter of fuels for the first time in 60 years. Mexico and Canada are the two biggest destinations for U.S. fuels, followed by Brazil and the Netherlands.....A major reason cited for high gasoline prices over the last two years — fighting and political tensions in the Middle East and North Africa — doesn't apply this year. Libyan production has returned after collapsing during the country's revolution two years ago. And higher production from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia has made up for Iran's declining output in the face of Western sanctions....."
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/high-gas-prices-persist-despite-us-oil-boom-1C9007042#/business/high-gas-prices-persist-despite-us-oil-boom-1C9007042
"The U.S. is increasing its oil production faster than ever, and American drivers are guzzling less gas.....U.S. oil output rose 14 percent to 6.5 million barrels per day last year — a record increase. By 2020, the nation is forecast to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's largest crude oil producer. At the same time, U.S. gasoline demand has fallen to 8.7 million barrels a day, its lowest level since 2001, as people switch to more fuel-efficient cars.....U.S. drivers are competing with drivers worldwide for every gallon of gasoline. As the developing economies of Asia and Latin America expand, their energy consumption is rising, which puts pressure on fuel supplies and prices everywhere else.
The U.S. still consumes more oil than any other country, but demand is weak and imports are falling. That leaves China, which overtook the U.S. late last year as the world's largest oil importer, as the single biggest influence on global demand for fuels. China's consumption has risen 28 percent in five years, to 10.2 million barrels per day last year.....U.S. refiners are free to sell gasoline and diesel to the highest bidder around the world. In 2011, the U.S. became a net exporter of fuels for the first time in 60 years. Mexico and Canada are the two biggest destinations for U.S. fuels, followed by Brazil and the Netherlands.....A major reason cited for high gasoline prices over the last two years — fighting and political tensions in the Middle East and North Africa — doesn't apply this year. Libyan production has returned after collapsing during the country's revolution two years ago. And higher production from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia has made up for Iran's declining output in the face of Western sanctions....."
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/energy-boom-begins-ripple-through-us-economy-1C8877092
This is the same trickle down we would see if all this time and energy were invested in other modes of energy production, the difference being the oil and natural gas would still be there as an emergency reserve instead of being converted to record highs of carbon dioxide in our atmoshere.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Current-Events---/For-Anyone-Thinking-Were-Just-Going-Through-A-Cycle/show/1913618
"The boom in new oil and natural gas flowing through U.S. pipelines is beginning to ripple through the wider American economy.....thousands of openings created indirectly by a new boom in domestic oil and natural gas drilling – a bounty so rich that it has even caught energy industry insiders by surprise. In part 2 of our four-part “Power Shift” special report, we examine how the explosion in drilling in places like North Dakota and West Texas is spreading through the general economy – despite controversy over the potential environmental impact of the new industry practices. ............"
This is the same trickle down we would see if all this time and energy were invested in other modes of energy production, the difference being the oil and natural gas would still be there as an emergency reserve instead of being converted to record highs of carbon dioxide in our atmoshere.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Current-Events---/For-Anyone-Thinking-Were-Just-Going-Through-A-Cycle/show/1913618
"The boom in new oil and natural gas flowing through U.S. pipelines is beginning to ripple through the wider American economy.....thousands of openings created indirectly by a new boom in domestic oil and natural gas drilling – a bounty so rich that it has even caught energy industry insiders by surprise. In part 2 of our four-part “Power Shift” special report, we examine how the explosion in drilling in places like North Dakota and West Texas is spreading through the general economy – despite controversy over the potential environmental impact of the new industry practices. ............"
In that same article I'd mentioned, there was a bit on how much electricity produced by solar and wind that actually made the grid. I don't remember the numbers but it was kind of sad. Nowadays things are far better and a lot more juice is reaching the grid. Just goes to show you how technology can jump leaps and bounds in a decade or two.
No doubt we have to do something and I am all ears on ideas.
No doubt we have to do something and I am all ears on ideas.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of these giant wind generators visible from I-10 in the big empty between Fort Stockton and Ozona, Texas. They are now stringing massive transmission lines along I-10, so I'm guessing this power will eventually make its way to San Antonio and Austin. For all the bad mouthing I do of Bush Jr. this was all started on his watch as Gov of Texas as far as I can tell. So props to him for that.
I like that idea. I think it is out of the box thinking like that that will eventually come up with something viable. But with that, you still have the potential carbon footprint of producing the metal and all of the fabrication that goes along with it.
There is always a cost. I guess the question is, what are we willing to pay? Production of just about every solution has a carbon footprint.
Along the same lines. We had to go to Oklahoma a couple of summers ago and on the interstate we passed a semi truck carrying 1 blade from a wind farm wind mill.... those things are friggin massive! Only 1 fits on a truck and there are 3 blades on each wind mill. Depending on where these babies are made and where they are being put to use kind of determines the carbon foot print... (the production and installation does too.)
I mean, where they install these things, the wind always blows and is normally kind of in the middle of nowhere. (We do have one within 100 miles of us) So in those respects it seems semi logical, but.... you've got the waste and footprint in the end.
There is always a cost. I guess the question is, what are we willing to pay? Production of just about every solution has a carbon footprint.
Along the same lines. We had to go to Oklahoma a couple of summers ago and on the interstate we passed a semi truck carrying 1 blade from a wind farm wind mill.... those things are friggin massive! Only 1 fits on a truck and there are 3 blades on each wind mill. Depending on where these babies are made and where they are being put to use kind of determines the carbon foot print... (the production and installation does too.)
I mean, where they install these things, the wind always blows and is normally kind of in the middle of nowhere. (We do have one within 100 miles of us) So in those respects it seems semi logical, but.... you've got the waste and footprint in the end.
That should read "direct production" and "support industries".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_plants_in_the_Mojave_Desert
You're correct that direction production of electricity by solar panels creates a lot of toxic waste in the short run. However there are other ways of getting electricity that are 100% clean and proven to work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojave_Solar_Project
You bend a long sheet of polished metal into a parabolic shape that focuses sunlight onto a tube full of water and voila - clean steam power. We have thousands of square miles between the Mojave Desert in southern California and the Chihuahua Desert in South Texas that are perfect for this. You put everyone on unemployment to work stringing transmission lines between the southwest and the northeast. (Or working in support industies if they're too delicate -- restaurants, truck dealerships, changing sheets in motels. 0% unemployment. We let Beijing, Mumbai, and Lahore see it makes economic sense to stop burning fossil fuels. We leave the coal and the oil and the uranium in the ground and live happpily ever after.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojave_Solar_Project
You bend a long sheet of polished metal into a parabolic shape that focuses sunlight onto a tube full of water and voila - clean steam power. We have thousands of square miles between the Mojave Desert in southern California and the Chihuahua Desert in South Texas that are perfect for this. You put everyone on unemployment to work stringing transmission lines between the southwest and the northeast. (Or working in support industies if they're too delicate -- restaurants, truck dealerships, changing sheets in motels. 0% unemployment. We let Beijing, Mumbai, and Lahore see it makes economic sense to stop burning fossil fuels. We leave the coal and the oil and the uranium in the ground and live happpily ever after.
I don't know what to think of this situation. I read something not too long ago (it may have been here on CE) about alternative energy production.
One of the things that was strongly noted was the amount of "toxic sludge" and "other toxic waste" that is left in the aftermath of solar panel production. The article went on to claim that right now we are on the verge of truly harnessing power of the sun which is obviously a renewable resource as long as the sun shines, but at the same time the waste left over from solar panel production, the amount of fossil fuels being used to produce and transport the finished product far outweigh the good from the green project.
Further, it went on to talk about the "electric car" situation. The minerals that are necessary for the battery packs are obviously mined from the earth. That mining alone, from getting the raw ore out of the ground to the refining of the ore uses so much fossil fuels. They compared a Toyota Prius and the over all carbon footprint it leaves from production to the end of the cars life to that of a Hummer. Apparently (and I've read this in a couple of other places besides this article) the Hummer leaves a smaller carbon footprint.
I don't know. Has anyone ever seen the transport train commercial where the company brags about being able to move a ton of freight something like 500 miles on a gallon of diesel? Why aren't we using that technology? I admit, I am completely uneducated on the subject but to me it seems transferable.
I've heard stories of a fuel injection system that would allow the every day car to run 100 miles on a gallon of gas. I've heard stories about some kind of a propulsion system that would allow automobiles to run on water. Why are we not demanding this?
I mean, oil is behind everything. WE need to get away from it, but at the current time, we are dependent. We've taken strides to slow consumption, but we can do more.
I don't know.....
One of the things that was strongly noted was the amount of "toxic sludge" and "other toxic waste" that is left in the aftermath of solar panel production. The article went on to claim that right now we are on the verge of truly harnessing power of the sun which is obviously a renewable resource as long as the sun shines, but at the same time the waste left over from solar panel production, the amount of fossil fuels being used to produce and transport the finished product far outweigh the good from the green project.
Further, it went on to talk about the "electric car" situation. The minerals that are necessary for the battery packs are obviously mined from the earth. That mining alone, from getting the raw ore out of the ground to the refining of the ore uses so much fossil fuels. They compared a Toyota Prius and the over all carbon footprint it leaves from production to the end of the cars life to that of a Hummer. Apparently (and I've read this in a couple of other places besides this article) the Hummer leaves a smaller carbon footprint.
I don't know. Has anyone ever seen the transport train commercial where the company brags about being able to move a ton of freight something like 500 miles on a gallon of diesel? Why aren't we using that technology? I admit, I am completely uneducated on the subject but to me it seems transferable.
I've heard stories of a fuel injection system that would allow the every day car to run 100 miles on a gallon of gas. I've heard stories about some kind of a propulsion system that would allow automobiles to run on water. Why are we not demanding this?
I mean, oil is behind everything. WE need to get away from it, but at the current time, we are dependent. We've taken strides to slow consumption, but we can do more.
I don't know.....
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