Bill,
My apologies on the link above. It should be www.energybulletin.net
Nuclear power is definitely part of the solution. But it is not the panacea some would wish.
Hydrogen economy? How does negative Energy Return on Investment grab you? " There are two main options for producing hydrogen - generating it from water, and extracting it from other fuels. With each case, the energy efficiency is well below 100% (i.e. you have to put more energy into separating the hydrogen than the chemical energy the hydrogen itself has).
Regarding your last statement:
While that may be true in terms of inflation, there is a big difference between then and now. That oil shortage was due to political reasons. The current and coming shortage has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with depletion and increasing demand. Oil discoveries peaked 30 years ago. Currently we are using 2 barrels of oil for every new barrel that is discovered. Sustainable? Not in my book.
Oil is not going to run out. Rather, it is going to get more and more expensive as demand outstrips supply.
70% of the US daily crude oil usage is devoted to transportation. Has anyone else noticed that food prices have risen in the last year significantly?
Maybe that's because diesel fuel increased in price from $1.50 a gallon to about $2.20 a gallon in the last year on average( in the planting, harvesting, and transport to and from processors of food in this country. In addition, fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides are made from petroleum.
ANWR contains an estimated (P50) 10.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
Estimates of max daily production are in the 400,000 barrels per day(same report linked above). Also, this would require roughly 4 years to reach that point once drilling begins. ANWR the answer? Again, its a small part of the total solution.
US crude usage is right at 20 million barrels per day. That just doesn't add up like Washington would have us believe does it?
A report done for the US Department of Energy was recently released. Its executive summary can be viewed here:
Interesting how the DOE's forecast gets little or no coverage in the mainstream media.
Also, I would like to direct you to the website of one of the Bush administration's energy advisors, Matthew Simmons:
I encourage you and everyone reading this message to educate yourselves about this issue. IMO it will be the defining issue of the next 30 years.
Thanks for reading,
Roy
