Thread: Alternative fuel?/Oil Dependency

www.pickensplan.com


His plan is simple. Setup wind turbines, enough for ~20% of our electric needs and then take the ~20% of Natural Gas that we use for electricity and move that into our vehicles and such. removing some of our dependency on foreign oil. Which he says is currently 70% of all oil used in the US.

Originally Posted by JBMCW2010

www.pickensplan.com


His plan is simple. Setup wind turbines, enough for ~20% of our electric needs and then take the ~20% of Natural Gas that we use for electricity and move that into our vehicles and such. removing some of our dependency on foreign oil. Which he says is currently 70% of all oil used in the US.

This will upset the birds with all the wind turbines and create more greenhouse gases with the natural gas. Pickens can't make money on oil so he it trying to jump start something else.

There was a plan to set up giant wind generators in the Gulf. Some company even offered to cover all of the expense of the turbines and installation because they would be making good money on the electricity generated. They installed a few, then some dumb ass bird than is endangered flew into one. PETA got crabby, and now the plan is scrapped. No matter what you do the tree huggers will bitch about it, so we might as well burn this mother to the ground.

The problem with things like solar and wind power is that they tend not to work when there's no wind. Or sunlight.

Breeder Nukes are still the answer...Carter outlawed them in the late seventies,but technology has come a long way since then.Just about every country in Europe is building these things.And the other,more immediate answer is drill here,drill now.The price would drop immediately,as the price is determined on the commodities market,and speculaters.Some say we wouldn't get the oil for about 10 years,but the price is determined by speculation,and the promise of more supply would drop the price immediately.

Another thig we should be doing is building more refineries.We haven't built one since 1971.Demand has gone WAY up since then.We have also added nearly 50 different blends of gas and diesel since then,all to appease the different laws in different states.This has cut down their efficiency and driven prices up.It sucks paying$4 a gallon for unleaded,but thats not the real problem.The real problem is deisel prices.Boats,Trucks and Trains all run on deisel.That has gone WAY up and is the reason prices for everything is going up.

It seems that instead of adressing the real problems,Congress decides that they are going to drag oil company officials into hearings.The government makes more money on oil than the oil companys do.Why not increase the supply at home,build more refineries,lower the taxes they collect? There is NO oil shortage.We get 60% of our imported oil from Canada,and a lot of that is being refined there because we lack the facilities.

Don't get me wrong,I'm all for conservation and finding alternatives.We need to do this too.Increasing supply on one end and decreasing demand on the other.

Originally Posted by Slayer

We need to find a new energy plan plain and simple. Our incredulous reliance on oil is going to be our, and the rest of the 'civilized' worlds downfall. When oil supplies run out, or remaining oil becomes near inaccessible, I suspect WW3 will quickly break out. Note Albert Einsteins famous quote, and take it to heart. We need to prevent things from getting that bad, and whether we find new power in wind turbines through the middle of the states, solar panels on top of every building in the US along with panels in high sun areas (Desert regions, death valley, Vegas area, etc). It doesn't matter what we choose to do, as long as its a green solution, and the energy is infinitly renewable.

I already know when I'm getting a car/motorcycle that I'm going to have it converted to run off Ethanol, theres countless lies out there about it, and once the bullshit that the oil companies have thrown out is carved through, you'll find that ethanol is an amazingly beneficial alternative to oil/ gasoline for powering cars and such.

(I woke up about 10 minutes before making this post so I'm still a bit asleep, so forgive the possible jumpiness of the post through topics and such along with any incoherency it may have lol)

Ethanol sucks ass...It takes MORE energy to make it than it saves.If it wasn't for the government ramming it down our throats,no one would touch it.Its a scam to put money into the pockets of voting farmers.It also has driven food costs way up.Corn is used for almost everything.This effects rich,middle class and especially the poor.

As an example,hybrid cars were designed by private companys.They work.people want them.They stand up in the free market.Ethanol has to be mandated,otherwise people would choose not to buy it(15% here in Minnesota).It does NOT stand up in a free market and causes more problems than it solves.