tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33573016.post414169546924999229..comments2024-02-11T02:24:22.330-06:00Comments on Nonbovine Ruminations: Oil: How will we ever do without it?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04107127399494404366noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33573016.post-68855838255764602092008-06-25T19:45:00.000-05:002008-06-25T19:45:00.000-05:00Danny wrote; People will do nothing unless it ben...Danny wrote; <I> People will do nothing unless it benefits them where it counts, in the wallet. </I><BR/><BR/>Bullshit. When California introduced tough emission standards in the early 70's they worked - despite the auto industry sniveling that they couldn't meet the specs and would be driven out of business. <BR/><BR/>The point is that now we now have a national government with it's head crammed up it ass. Just today, I heard the worlds greatest idiot on the news saying that the only solution to the rising cost of oil was increased domestic production. <BR/><BR/>Our government can make huge differences in how much oil we gorge ourselves on, just like it can spend a trillion dollars to fly to the other side of the planet and start wars with every tribal chieften for a thousand miles. <BR/><BR/>What this government should do ... phase out domestic production of oil/gas, we'll need these reserves later. Institute luxury taxes on frivolous fuel usage. Institute tax on general fuel usage. Apply all this revenue to incentives for alternative energies. Start building a new generation of nuclear reactors. Institute vehicle mileage requirements and new building codes with efficiency standards. And a thousand little things like outlawing most incandescent light bulbs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33573016.post-66573041696578529722008-06-24T11:55:00.000-05:002008-06-24T11:55:00.000-05:00This was an excellent post, Kelly, and you raised ...This was an excellent post, Kelly, and you raised quite a few important issues. Coincidentally, I just finished reading Ross Gelbspan's <I> Boiling Point</I>, which talks about overuse of oil from a global warming perspective, but many of the solutions he offers are no less viable (though he is a big fan of non-petroleum based hydrogen energy).<BR/><BR/>I do agree with you on the need for more extensive public transportation. In New York, Chicago, or Toronto, public transportation is very well developed, and in New York, at least, most people depend on it. In St. Petersburg, however, the bus network is sorely lacking. Pinellas County is the most densely populated county in Florida, but buses often run hourly, while the train to Tampa is being dismantled (of course, the mayor has also been resisting curbside recycling in the city, which says loads about his concern for the environment). People here, and many other places, are dependent on their cars.<BR/><BR/>But transportation isn't the only issue. Industry is a far larger consumer of petroleum, and even animal feed uses petroleum extensively. And then there are heating costs, especially in the north.<BR/><BR/>There are, however, alternatives. Windpower is growing at 40% per annum in Europe and could be adopted to the US. Solar power would be a great alternative here in the Sunshine State and in places like Arizona and Texas. In Israel, for instance, virtually every single home has solar water heating, making hot water free and affordable. Along the coast, wave and tidal power are viable options too. A great place to find information on other clean, available alternatives, some funky and some quite viable is http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/<BR/><BR/>In the meantime, some steps that can be taken to reduce oil dependency include government efforts to improve mass urban transit, improvement of the inter-city rail lines as a cheap, quick alternative to flying, and more people moving into urban areas from suburbia. <BR/><BR/>The issue is that none of this will happen until it is both equally convenient and economically beneficial to take these steps. People will do nothing unless it benefits them where it counts, in the wallet. Perhaps rising oil prices are beneficial in the long run.Blog Shelo Shelihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04065046996890668141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33573016.post-89818620154650499512008-06-19T21:13:00.000-05:002008-06-19T21:13:00.000-05:00Tesla quotes a 100,000 mile life for their batteri...Tesla quotes a 100,000 mile life for their batteries. Besides, most people can get by with a quarter of tesla's range and therefore a quarter of the battery cost. <BR/><BR/>Electric vehicles are only just starting to mature. Some of the technologies that await: induction motor embedded in each wheel hub that offer regenerative braking, all wheel drive, active traction control, and reduced parts count and cost. Smaller, higher efficiency ic engines/generators to extend the ev's range. Current limiting batteries that prevent explosive discharge. <BR/><BR/>Most current hybrids are IC powered and battery assisted. IT should be the other way around, then you use a smaller and higher efficiency IC engine that always runs at its peak efficiency settings (rpms and power). That alone can double the mileage.<BR/><BR/>When you put the economy of scale that ic cars have behind electric cars, I think the electric car is beginning to win. It's just dead momentum that's carrying the status quo.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33573016.post-70024227690171384882008-06-19T19:40:00.000-05:002008-06-19T19:40:00.000-05:00I'm aware of the Tesla Roadster. It's exorbitantl...I'm aware of the Tesla Roadster. It's exorbitantly expensive ($109,000), and is powered by hundreds of little explosive devices with relatively limited lifespans. <BR/><BR/>Lithium-ion batteries have high failure rates even with the best manufacturing processes available (caused when metal deposition in the battery shorts a cell); at minimum cell failure diminishes the battery's capacity and at maximum causes the battery to overheat and explode. Improvements in manufacturing have diminished this risk but have not eliminated it. Lithium-ion batteries also age whether or not used, which means your Roadster is going to need a full battery replacement every 3 or 4 years. Battery maintenance on one of these birds is going to cost probably around $15,000 a year, maybe as much as $20,000, over the life of the vehicle. One has to wonder just how many megajoules are submarined into making and recycling those batteries.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04107127399494404366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33573016.post-55323280604694599202008-06-19T19:29:00.000-05:002008-06-19T19:29:00.000-05:00I have heard somewhat convincing arguments for nea...I have heard somewhat convincing arguments for near-exclusive reliance on solar power via high-efficiency photovoltaic panels.<BR/><BR/>What is your assessment of solar? Assuming that massive amounts of electricity could be cheaply produced when the sun is shining, what do you consider to be the best delayed-consumption power storage options?<BR/><BR/>Thank you for this interesting post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33573016.post-9849152367699161982008-06-19T16:04:00.000-05:002008-06-19T16:04:00.000-05:00Oh Kelly, I see you're lecturing at length about t...Oh Kelly, I see you're lecturing at length about things you don't know much about, again. <BR/><BR/><I>Simply put, the energy storage capabilities of a battery aren't even close to being on a par with what is offered by chemical fuels.</I> Wrong. The Tesla Roadster has a 220 mile range and can blow away a corvette. The reason Li-ion batteries haven't been used more in electric vehicles is because of price and fast discharge risk, both of which are steadily improving. <BR/><BR/>Conservation: the unpleasant secret that the insiders don't want you to know is that America should, from their point of view, gorge itself on as much cheap oil as possible. That way, when it really does run out, we'll be ahead of the pack in terms of wealth and power. Seriously, look at the facts, how much conservation/alternative energy could have been spawned if if a trillion dollars were spent on incentives, instead of the latest gulf war? <BR/><BR/>Nuclear is coming back with a vengeance. Capitalism will drive alternative energy / electric cars / replacement technologies... not conservationism. We will all be living differently in forty years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33573016.post-44378708230871848282008-06-19T15:21:00.000-05:002008-06-19T15:21:00.000-05:00Wow, so many points to consider!I guess that human...Wow, so many points to consider!<BR/><BR/>I guess that humanity has a lot of change to be met before we can look forward to a 'safe' future. I'm thinking we should ship the stupider half of the world's population to the mooon. oh damn, that takes up masses of energy... ok, how aboutnuclear winter, korea?<BR/><BR/>Sorry but humanity has always been such an utterly wasteful and mindless civilisation- I had to explain to a very intelligent friend the other day in great length over why we shouldn't throw away glass and other such materials. He's perfectly intelligent, but it's just the way he was socially taught growing up.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, things don't change within one generation- and although theres plenty we can do as individuals, the only way to drastically offset such a disaster is to offset is to become drastic in society. which, I'm afraid, leaves people feeling bitter and resentful for centuries.<BR/><BR/>My number one tip? get a bike, and only ever throw way the parts that are unusable. dont just get a new bike.<BR/><BR/>my second best tip is to become a vegetarian. The amount of food it consumed (and thus currently, energy) in the breeding of livestock is about 6 times greater than it does to grow the same amount of plants. The beginning of ending world hunger as well as massively increasing our power consumption. <BR/><BR/>of course, I'm not a vegetarian. In fact, I'm a cook and I love cooking beautiful meals using meats. Thus, I make my own point in hypocrasy- you need to be pretty drastic in your life to change the lives of others in the future.<BR/><BR/>... wow... Buddha would be proud...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com