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Vagabond
Mercenary
Mr. Referee
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 5745
Location: United States
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 Posted: 14-Sep-2006 01:51 Post subject: What do you think? |
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http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
Keep it clean or take it to the saloon.
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one must work hard to cultivate the mind and body. and one must always cultivate the mind.
//^(^_^)^\\
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Rarich
Federated Suns
Leftenant General
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 991
Location: United States
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| Posted: 14-Sep-2006 02:40 Post subject: RE: What do you think? |
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I have looked at a lot of alternative energy websites. Start at the DOE.gov site EEREN.gov site and work your way from there.
There is going to be NO SINGLE source solution to this, and it is going to be too big for the government to fix. If everyone takes care of themselves as far as energy, and therefore gas, we will have a crash landing instead of a smoking hole in the ground.
We are talking some sort of centralized power source in the 500MW (MEGA watt) range to even have a chance at solving the issue. There is no such source out there right now. You can get enough solar cells on your roof to get 3-5 kw (kilowatts) of feed from them. In northern latitudes (non-solar) Microhydro and Biomass(woody stuff) are alternatives.
For Vehicles there is Methanol, Ethanol,and Biodiesel. Hydrogen is still a "Lab fuel" since there as yet to be an "energy postive" method of making it. Incidentally ethanol or methanol will take up a serious chunk of our farmland (like half or more), according to many sources, to grow enough to replace gas.
Remember plastics usually use a fossil fuel feed of some sort as well. Aspirin is made using a byproduct. The "Oil Peak" will be one of those major changes like the reniassance in europe. It could easily be a dark ages trigger. This won't be an artificial problem like the 70's oil embargo, there will simply be a decline in what they can find and pump.
Oil Peak, Hubbert's peak, Alternative fuels, alternative energy, Biodiesel, Biomass, Sterling engines, Steam power, Corn stoves, Thermal solar, Solar trough, Wind power, Turbines, are all terms that may get results with a search.
Check out the wikipedia and you will go down roughly the same paths I did that do not start with government souces.
[ This Message was edited by: Rarich on 2006-09-14 08:20 ]
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Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side & a dark side, and strings also lie under it all.
Life is a sexually transmitted terminal disease.
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SaberDance
Federated Suns
Colonel
Joined: 07-May-2004 00:00
Posts: 837
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| Posted: 14-Sep-2006 15:44 Post subject: RE: What do you think? |
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I'd be a lot more conviced if I couldn't look out my window and see gas had dropped a dollar/gallon in the last month.
I was told I'd never see gas below a $2.00 again. Hmm, I'm seeing it today.
The basic problem with something like this is it holds everything constant. Life isn't constant. Known oil reserves increase all the time as we find new sources (the recent strike in the Gulf of Mexico). Rising prices make previously un-economic reserves economic (the tar sands in British Columbia). Technology gets closer to synthetic hydrocarbons all the time (the anthracite oil project in West Virginia).
Meanwhile, our energy efficiency is going up (20 new powerplants in Texas are actually going to allow for a decrease in fossil fuel use and emissions). Compared against GPD, American oil use has dropped since the 70s.
Likewise, with advances in biotechnology, the use of petroleum based insecticides and fertilizers is dropping off.
The countries that had better hope oil isn't running out are the producers, the poor, and the newly industrializing. Not us.
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"Politics is the Art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, misdiagnosing the problem, and applying the wrong solution."
-Groucho Marx
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SaberDance
Federated Suns
Colonel
Joined: 07-May-2004 00:00
Posts: 837
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| Posted: 14-Sep-2006 15:50 Post subject: RE: What do you think? |
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As an addendum, the Anthracite Oil project is particularly cool. We're probably a ways away from it, but the project is to take Anthracite coal, and mill it down into Petrolium. Apparently, theoretically, it can be done, and efficiently. It's not as good as pumping oil out of the ground, but give it a couple of years and it will be competetive.
The really cool thing is that the world's largest Anthracite shelf in the American Appalacian Mountains. If we can make this work, America becomes the world's gas station again.
Here's a basic right-up of it: http://www.ultracleanfuels.com/html/about.htm
_________________
"Politics is the Art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, misdiagnosing the problem, and applying the wrong solution."
-Groucho Marx
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AWAD
Draconis Combine
Chu-sa
Joined: 06-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 766
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| Posted: 19-Sep-2006 19:21 Post subject: RE: What do you think? |
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People already live off grid.
Besides new sources reduction in usage will be critical. Stuff like LEDs for lighting and new freon (whatever it's name is) will be critical to reducing demand. So once that occurs and the efficiency of stuff like solar cells and wind turbines go up, each house can go off grid. Then that takes care of lose of power just to transmit it.
Oil is becoming more critical for plastic and new fibers. So those industries want to see other ways to make power other than just up in smoke.
AWAD- Change needs impetus, chaos is great for that
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Rarich
Federated Suns
Leftenant General
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 991
Location: United States
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| Posted: 20-Sep-2006 02:37 Post subject: RE: What do you think? |
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Look up Stirling Engines, Thermal Depolymerization, and Solar Thermal. There are some neat Gizmos out there.
I think Britain has a company building Natural gas fired stirling engines to turn a generator and the cooling system for the cold side of the engine is the hot water heater. Some high end systems use the radiant floor heating system for the same thing.
Solar Dishes combined with Stirling engines have produced power in the 20- 50 Megawatt range. California is going to be building a sunflower farm of these. (500Mw worth)
The main sticking point is mobile power for cars and trucks. Gas and Diesel are the 2 primary sources of "mobile power". Hydrogen fuel cells are 15 or more years out, Biodiesel and Ethanol are mainly stop gap measures until fuel cells are mass producible.
Look up USS clueless to get an idea of the scales involved, and why individuals may have to make sure they can produce their own power, rather that the "centralized plant" that we have had for the past century or so. Guys we are living in interesting times, several paradigms are going to shift, or else.
_________________
Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side & a dark side, and strings also lie under it all.
Life is a sexually transmitted terminal disease.
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Rarich
Federated Suns
Leftenant General
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 991
Location: United States
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| Posted: 20-Sep-2006 02:45 Post subject: RE: What do you think? |
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Pretty site, any others? Why such heavy tax subsidies? Could this work without them? What is the overall energy of this technology? Once transportation, processing and distribution are considered what is the return for input?
_________________
Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side & a dark side, and strings also lie under it all.
Life is a sexually transmitted terminal disease.
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