imagineero
Addicted to ArboristSite
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Once you get all the facts, it’s a simple thing to see that Ethanol is not a cheaper-than-oil energy source anywhere on the planet!
You can never get all the facts straight. But if you want to skew them to illustrate your own limited viewpoint then I might as well throw some counterpoints in there to present a slightly more balanced view.
Your arguments seem to be based on crude oil vs other forms of fuel like biodiesel and ethanol. I'll grant that oil is currently cheaper and better value than the other forms of energy for the limited purpose of, say, fueling your vehicle. Lets not assume that oil prices will not be increasing, or assume that alternative energy prices will always rise by the same percentage will.
Oil is arguably the most important factor in every developed nations economy. Every financial collapse in US history was precipitated by a sharp increase in crude oil prices, GFC included. Everyone wanted to talk about the sub prime mortgage market, but nobody wanted to discuss that the price of crude went from $32/barrel in december 07 to $126/barrel mid 2008. Nobody was allowed to even use the phrase 'peak oil' in the whitehouse. It was no surprise to me that Obama's first address from the oval office was partly about the BP oil disaster, and partly about moving america away from reliance on fossil fuels. Have a read of the transcript.
Oil is a great thing, but the happy days are over. Every well in the world is being pumped at full capacity and no new wells are being discovered of meaningul size. The issue isn't "how much is left", it's "how quick can we get it out of the ground?" They're pumping wells as quick as they can and pushing technology to do it quicker. Meanwhile, oil companies are merging, tanker ships are being decomissioned. History shows that demand only needs to outstrip supply by as little as 1% for barrel prices to double, tripple or even more. I'm talking daily demand/supply here. We have already reached daily maximum supply. But now the other 95% of the world has decided they would like to have a car too. Or at least a motorbike. Bicycles aren't as cool as they used to be.
How long do you think it will take for GFC 2? We're pretty much hovering on the brink of it with not much chance of increasing supply of oil, and no chance of reducing demand. So what would you suggest there whitespider? That we should forget about using/researching alternative fuels and keep using oil?
Yeah it costs money, and I agree it's probably a waste of money. I don't think there is a replacement out there to be discovered or invented. But some of these alternatives will make the transition a bit less violent and a bit more livable as we move from being gas guzzlers and go back to stone age living. I know that even if we stopped eating, all the corn in the world wouldn't fuel our cars for a day, but there may come a time in the not too distant future when militarised nations will decide they'd rather have fuel for the warships than food for the people.
I predict a big comeback of wood and forestry. Timber is the only renewable resource we have, at least in the scale of our own lifetimes. You can build with it, cook with it, eat things that grow on it, heat with it and it makes oxygen and eats C02. Needs nothing but sun and water to grow and they're fun to climb too. Last year was the biggest year for wood heater sales in australia in more than 15 years. I can see the coal powered car making a comeback too. Maybe even a pine powered variant for NZ.
Shaun