|
||
|
Title: I live... Post by stevegeebe on Jun 3rd, 2005, 5:25pm in a state that has provided fossil fuel to the rest of the United States for many years. In my younger days, I worked offshore on pipeline projects, oil rigs and production platforms. Great days back then and our state coffers are once again flush. Oil has shot up in price over $20 a barrel from last year and we seem to ignore the ramifications of this year, 2005, being the year, by some projections, that global oil peak production has occured and that the world will never produce more oil than it already has. I can still hear my Dad clearing his throat, as the gas station attendent approached our 1960 Ford station wagon, saying, "$2.00 regular please". Or when he'd flip a quarter from his thumb and tell me "go get a gallon of gas to mow de lawn" (thats how we say cut the grass down here). What's going to happen when a barrel of oil hits $200? Look around where you are sitting right now and count the things that are the result of the stored solar energy that is oil. What do I tell my daughter, who is in her second year of college, where I think the future is? I'd be interested to hear what y'all think. Steve G |
||
|
Title: Re: I live... Post by unsolved1 on Jun 3rd, 2005, 5:32pm There's a movie Sunday night on FX called "Oil Storm". It should be interesting. It's about our dependance on oil and what could (or will) happen when we can't get the oil we need. |
||
|
Title: Re: I live... Post by pattik on Jun 3rd, 2005, 6:25pm Most people agree that the U.S. is far too dependant on foreign oil, but from a total global outlook, those other countries selling us that oil need us as well to buy that oil to maintain their standards of living. Most people agree that "peak oil" is a rational theory, but there is much dissention as to how long it takes to occur and when. It's like the chaos theory--so many variables--very difficult to predict. The technology of tapping huge (but difficult to get at) oil reserves will improve when the financial incentives are there, and I think $55 and up oil is a definite incentive. Most people have no idea how much oil is part of our everyday existance, and that's pretty scary. But I am an optimist regarding alternatives and new technologies on the horizon. I've heard that Iceland is trying to go completely hydrogen for fuels and power--pretty cool. I'm all for stepping up the pace of alternatives, but I don't think that freaking out about doomsday being right around the corner will help. It's good that general awareness of this problem is being raised. :) |
||
|
Title: Re: I live... Post by stevegeebe on Jun 3rd, 2005, 7:32pm Thanks for the input. I re-read my post and I did not mean to come off as an alarmist. And I agree that the price will spur additional exploration. I've read that reserves deep in the Gulf of Mexico rival that of the Middle East. But who really knows? If it were true why are the oil companies not drilling for it especially in light of the projected forcasts? At the current US consumption of 20 million barrels per day and the additional needs of developing countries like China and India, along with the rest of the planet, it will not take long to exhaust the current assumed reserves. I would like to see an all out effort to develop these alternatives that are not currently finding their way to the front page. It will not be that easy to overcome and will not easily translate to our needs and the current environment will take years to resort to the nasty alternatives. We can spend the money to protect our national interests in the oil rich areas of the globe but I think we need to redirect ourselves to becomming independent of those who wish to see us die of thirst of that which makes our standard of life possible. We also need to seriously rethink our ways as a country. Steve G |
||
|
Title: Re: I live... Post by pattik on Jun 3rd, 2005, 7:50pm on 06/03/05 at 19:32:31, stevegeebe wrote:
I find the politics of oil facinating. For instance, Russia is absolutely blowing a great opportunity to market its oil. They have practically gone back to government controlled oil production. And they have huge amounts of it untapped. I still think that if governments were to actually cut us off, it would be like shooting themselves in the foot. China may be hot at the moment, but they don't feed the world or have an economy based on consumerism as we do. This is truly a global economy now, and what hurts one, hurts all. |
||
|
Title: Re: I live... of the Soviewt Union Post by stevegeebe on Jun 3rd, 2005, 8:34pm Me too pattik. "And there is the issue of China, which, in 2004, became the worlds second largest consumer of oil, surpassing Japan. China's surging industrial growth has made it increasingly dependent on the imports we are counting on. If China wanted to, it could easily walk into some of these places--- the Middle east, the former Soviet republics of central Asia---and extend its hegemony by force. Is America prepared to contest for this oil in an Asian land war with the Chinese Army? I doubt it.....A likely senario is that the US could exhaust and bankrupt itself trying to do this, and be forced to withdraw into our own hemisphere, having lost access to most of the worlds remaining oil in the process." The Long Emergency...Rolling Stone. |
||
|
Title: Re: I live... Post by Charlie on Jun 3rd, 2005, 10:48pm China and India are about to suck up most of the oil. It's weird that we still burn more coal than anything else to run our power plants. Only NYC uses gas. We are building an add on here for gas though. Charlie |
||
|
Title: Re: I live... Post by bigAl on Jun 4th, 2005, 12:26am on 06/03/05 at 17:25:39, stevegeebe wrote:
Plastics will eventually be replaced by stainless steel and glass. The planet core is full of iron and nickel. Probably one third of the dry surface is covered with pure SiO2 as sand or sand stone. It will be difficult to run out of these resources. Solar power will be around for another 5 billion years or so. We just need to find better ways to use it. By far the best building material for homes is granite rock. Many ancient stone buildings have lasted several thousand years. There is plenty of granite to go around. Think of the benefits of building a family home that would last several thousand years rather than a few hundred years at best like our 'modern' homes do. Truly there are enough resources to provide a good living for all. What we really need is to to live without killing each other off. We need to divert the resources used to fuel the war machine into peaceful enterprize. We need to build more for our descendents than just a burnt out cinder in the deserts of the middle east. http://peace.mennolink.org/resources/clipart/leojpeace1.gif |
||
|
Title: Re: I live... Post by pattik on Jun 4th, 2005, 9:49am on 06/04/05 at 00:26:53, bigAl wrote:
Amen to that. |
||
|
Title: Re: I live... Post by stevegeebe on Jun 4th, 2005, 3:43pm www.hubbertpeak.com Steve G |
||
|
Title: Re: I live... Post by Frank_W on Jun 6th, 2005, 9:23am The next HUGE consumer of oil is China. The giant is waking up, and it will make America's oil consumption look like a drop in the bucket. Personally, I can't wait for us to get off the foreign oil crack pipe. I'm ready for alternative energy. |
||
|
Title: Re: I live... Post by ExplodingEyeBall on Jun 6th, 2005, 9:38am on 06/06/05 at 09:23:48, Frank_W wrote:
Farts burn. ;;D I really am ready for the alternative energy myself. What I'd really like to do is come up with a good, cheap, easy alternative energy and give it away (after I get rich from it) so I could put the greedy bastard utility companies and gas companies out of business. |
||
|
Clusterheadaches.com Message Board » Powered by YaBB 1 Gold - SP 1.3.1! YaBB © 2000-2003. All Rights Reserved. |