Astounding stuff I saw today

[Evil_inc]

Kudos for keeping an open mind and comparing unsubstantiated rhetoric and bias to fact. A young man with your maturity is ahead of your years. You might face opposition at times, but don’t be intimidated. If you live life with open eyes, the light will pour in. Don’t simply drink the Kool Aid from either side of the aisle. Take it all in. Sort it out. Make a knowledgeable decision and stand by it.

 

I would also commend your parents or whoever raised you.

 

And if you want to give him the knowledge about all of the junk that he gets from the opinionated press tell him to take Ap us goverment and politics. Its a great class though in maryland it has the hardest ap test of all of the courses.

[MoJo Risin&#39]

yeah, there have been several rotary engines made and some of the most famous designs were during the 1970's when hippies roamed the earth.

Hippies still do roam the Earth. I grew up with the wackos. It’s just that they’re older now and changed their style of dress.

 

A couple people who I grew up with are now in congress. Their goofy, out of touch philosophy hasn’t changed either, which is why we still can’t solve some of our energy problems 40 years later. They prefer social activism and stonewalling in the guise of the environment, to science and moving forward. Plagued by their dogmatic outlook, we are stagnated from accomplishing any meaningful resolutions to our energy source crisis.

 

Therefore, we are forced to look at other alternatives. If each household replaced just three 60 watt incandescent light bulbs with long life, energy efficient ones, in a year we would save enough energy to fuel 100,000,000 vehicles. Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes and its warmest/coldest seasonal temperatures vary by around 40-45 degrees F. If we could harness the energy it takes to raise the temperature of Lake Erie one degree F, we would have enough energy to power greater Cleveland for a year. Our nuclear power plants use more energy to convert or return water from a vapor to a liquid state, than it uses to heat liquid water from 32 to 212 degrees F (0 to 100 C).

 

I am pro nuclear and pro exploration. Have been for decades. Where I live there are huge pockets of natural gas, yet I’m paying ten times the amount I paid for it 30 years ago. The price of gasoline has not increased anywhere near that ratio in that timeframe.

 

Unless we solve these and other issues OR get the wackos out of congress, nothing will change for the better. Don’t know why scientists are concerned with cloning sheep. Too many people in the U.S. are sheep. (I guess I should call them “sheeple.”) Can you say, “Baaaaah”?

 

The sheep thing is not directed at anyone here.

 

Sorry about the rant. I’m not having a good day.

[two left feet]

Methane anyone ?

 

I dont know whether anyone is sticking to the thread any more, but I had a old friend who collected pig manure (free of charge) and used to collect / compress the methane. Ran all sorts of engines and stuff. Cost nothing.

 

Seems to be penty of . lying around not doing much....last time I looked anyways. (Most omnivores remove less than 70% of available energy from there food, especially Big Macks etc)

[Burleyboy]

ExRoadie rant ON

 

The key to having an efficient fuel for internal combustion engines is the amount of BTUs contained in the fuel.

 

Regular Unleaded gas has the highest BTU content of any fuel readily available. Ethanol, Propane and Hydrogen have much lower BTU content.

 

This means that the Miles Per Gallon of each of these is much lower than pump gas.

 

Even if Ethanol was available for the same price per gallon, you would burn more fuel per mile making it more expensive.

 

The price per gallon of Ethanol, Propane and Hydrogen are already higher than pump gas.

 

Three things must happen to lower gas prices.

 

First: The Oil companies must be allowed to build new refineries. There hasn't been a new major refinery built in the United States in almost 30 years.

 

The new refineries need to be built closer to the "new" population centers and away from areas prone to Hurricanes.

 

Second: Until Nuclear power is brought back into the mainstream with pebble bed reactors, we will continue to consume fossil fuel to generate electricity.

 

If we could switch to Nuclear power for electricity generation, we could then afford to juice-up our electric vehicles. Simply moving the consumption of fossil fuels from the car to the power plant won't do us any good.

 

Three: The consumer states that have Oil and Natural Gas on land and off shore need to get off their "no exploration" high horse.

 

Do you realize that 38% of the fossil fuels produced by the United States comes from or through Louisiana? 38%. Did you know that California that doesn't allow off shore drilling gets more money from this production than Louisiana? Did you know that Florida that doesn't allow off shore drilling gets more money from this production than Louisiana?

 

FYI The recent spike in gas prices is due to the refineries cutting over from "winter" gas and fuel oil production to "summer" gas. During this time they also perform any maintenance to their production facilities. If we had more refining capacity the flow of stock wouldn't get so tight during these times and prices wouldn't fluctuate due to supply and demand.

 

ExRoadie rant OFF

Having worked in the two most "EVIL" corporate industries, oilfield and pharmaceutical research. I worked low level casing jobs and fluids control in north eastern Utah. I don't like the high prices at the pump, seeing as I drive an extended cab Silverado, that doesn't know how to pass a gas station. I'm somewhat bugged by the record profit's of the oil companies right now, but I remember when oil went bust in the Utah and Wyoming area, when oil wasn't worth the cost of exploration, let alone getting it out of the ground. Didn't see anyone offering to pay more.

Same thing for pharmaceutical, I worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb for 11 years in materials management. My budget was millions and it was the tiniest slice, at the tiniest site Bristol had. Years of a money drain for research, and not that long to recoup your losses.

But theyr'e both constantly under attack and "EVIL"

 

I said it before, and I'll say it again, your rant's, as you call them are the best. Very well thought out, informed and factual. I couldn't agree more.

[red930]

For clarity...

 

The statement about not allowing drilling is directed at states that DO NOT allow drilling on Federal land much less private land. Most specifically Florida. There are known reserves of oil and natural gas off the coasts of many states that simply won't allow drilling.

 

There are known reserves of oil and natural gas being explored along the Rocky Mountains. There is speculation that equal or greater reserves are located along the Appalachian Mountains.

 

For all of us hoping for a different future here's some interesting comments from an earlier post of mine...

 

The real value of a barrel of oil tops out at about $80.00USD. Once the price of oil reaches that level other sources of energy become viable for regular use.

 

This fact is not lost on the OPEC countries and they are doing everything in their power to keep the price of oil high but not too high.

 

If oil was to stay above $80.00USD a barrel for more than two years, you would see many more sources of energy come into use which would devalue oil. This would have the effect of taking OPEC out of the picture and cut off their source of funding.

 

OPEC tends to boost oil prices in cycles hoping that the next low point will always be higher than the previous.

 

Here's some good reading on this specific subject.

http://www.thebulletin.org/article.php?art_ofn=mj05cavallo

 

Disclaimer: I own a significant number of Exxon/Mobile shares.

 

Now that was written back in September 2005 shortly after I got internet access again following hurricane Katrina. So far nothing in my research has lead me away from my conclusions.

 

Add in the destabilizing effect that Chinese control over Chavez in Venezuela and you can see that these are interesting times indeed.

[Onsightsmith]

The oil industry is certainly not raping anyone. They make a mere $.08 profit per $1 of sales. Many other industries make much more, some over twice as much.

 

 

True, who was it mobil, exxon, I cant remember........

Oh it was shell, yea they only made 9billion (record profits!) in 3 months after the katrina thing. Nope I didnt feel a thing..............

[Burleyboy]

For clarity...

 

The statement about not allowing drilling is directed at states that DO NOT allow drilling on Federal land much less private land. Most specifically Florida. There are known reserves of oil and natural gas off the coasts of many states that simply won't allow drilling.

 

There are known reserves of oil and natural gas being explored along the Rocky Mountains. There is speculation that equal or greater reserves are located along the Appalachian Mountains.

 

For all of us hoping for a different future here's some interesting comments from an earlier post of mine...

 

 

 

Now that was written back in September 2005 shortly after I got internet access again following hurricane Katrina. So far nothing in my research has lead me away from my conclusions.

 

Add in the destabilizing effect that Chinese control over Chavez in Venezuela and you can see that these are interesting times indeed.

Interesting times indeed. I knew it would be a monumental task squeezing oil out of Canada's vast reserves of tar sands, I didn't realize the expectations for coming online were so far off, or the output so low. In my head, it was always a kind of screw OPEC back up plan, that would go into effect in the near future, as the price of oil made it economically feasible. Maybe not.

OPEC has been running this routine as long as I can remember, but I think it's becoming evident to more people now, that when the price shoots up, it's not dropping any where near it's previous level. I know people didn't like it when the price reached 3 bucks a gallon, it will be interesting to see how the politics of the N.I.M.B.Y./enviro crowd change as it becomes a more serious hardship.

It's amazing production and refining weren't impacted more in the Gulf states after Katrina and Rita, judging by how dotted the gulf is with platforms.

When Exxon/ Mobile and President Bush are both saying we need to take a step back from our addiction, well, this will probably be my last big truck.

Chavez=Asshat

In these uncertain times, there is one thing of which I'm certain. I wish I owned significant shares of Exxon/Mobil.

[fst h2o]

And your point is? The oil companies, like all other businesses are in it to make money. Is it their problem that the current market is tipped in their favor? Did you help them out back in the mid 90's when crude sold for a mere $15 per barrel? Did you feel like it was bad that you were paying about $1 a gallon (or less in some states)? What about the thousands of people that lost jobs because it wasn't worth it to produce new wells? If you are so upset over them making money, stop buying gasoline and any other oil products. If you did a little research, you would find that oil is the basis for much more than gasoline and heating oil.

 

As to the 9 billion profits...

 

linkgoodness

 

Read the second comment. I know it's a bit old, but mere profit numbers mean nothing in themselves.

 

I'm sorry for the rant, but I hate seeing people complaining about how capitalism works. I realize that it's not perfect, but IMO it's the best system there is. I'd recommend reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand to anyone that cares to understand the reason behind what drives people to create and put forth their best efforts.

 

True, who was it mobil, exxon, I cant remember........

Oh it was shell, yea they only made 9billion (record profits!) in 3 months after the katrina thing. Nope I didnt feel a thing..............

[red930]

You guys that like to hammer the oil companies must remember that oil production, refining and consumer sales are regulated right down the line.

 

When oil prices are low, the cost per barrel are high due to refining and sales. This limits the available dollars for discovery and production.

 

When oil prices are high, the cost per barrel are lower as a percentage. This allows them to put the extra money right back into discovery and production. If they didn't we would be in deep doo doo for sure.

 

Don't get me started on the regressive tax standards for pump gas. The local, state and federal governments get the same amount of taxes per gallon irregardless of the pump price.

 

Did you know that every state has a law limiting discounts on pump gas. They require a retail markup of between 4 and 9 cents per gallon. This means that the retailer might want to reduce the price to consumers but can't. Because it's against the law.

[ayeayre]

Is it ethanol? i know its allready available, but it will probably be the next fuel, there is a mixture of 10% ethenol that most newer cars can allready use. And i know its 100% renewable, its made from alot of things like wheat is one of them i cant remember anymore maybey sugar cane aswell. Car manufacures have to aggree with it first and start producing engines that can run purely off 100% of it.

[red930]

We had some guys from GM's fuel cell division stop by my school today (RPI). They brought the chassis of a fuel cell car that they were developing. It looked pretty sweet, with regenerative braking (normal brakes just use friction to create (read: WASTE) kinetic energy). The car had 1 large fuel cell built into the center of the chassis, used to power 1 engine for the front two tires, and 2 engines for the rear tires. I guess, the hard part with a hydrogen fuel cell powered car is the infrastructure. Maybe that'll start being developed when the cars start coming out. One of the representatives posed a good point that anyone can run a windmill connected to a system that would electrolyze water, just as long as you have wind and water The fuel-cell engineering area is still really new, and they said that they're having to learn from experience with these vehicles (they're already testing prototypes) They don't exactly teach this stuff in the classrooms, but there are a couple centers that do graduate research in these areas.

 

The way the chassis was built, and from the prototype pictures I saw, it looks as if GM is still catering to the SUV market. *sigh* Maybe people will figure out that smaller vehicles are usually safer AND more efficient.

 

He said they were looking at around 2010 for the cars to start hitting the production line. We'll just have to wait and see how they do. According to the representative, they're shooting for a vehicle that is on par with the current vehicle pricings (but I wouldn't be surprised if they were a bit more expensive )

 

Thumbs up to the human race if we can get away from a fossil fuel based economy and use a renewable resource.

[Guest FZ1]

Kudos for keeping an open mind and comparing unsubstantiated rhetoric and bias to fact. A young man with your maturity is ahead of your years. You might face opposition at times, but don’t be intimidated. If you live life with open eyes, the light will pour in. Don’t simply drink the Kool Aid from either side of the aisle. Take it all in. Sort it out. Make a knowledgeable decision and stand by it.

 

I would also commend your parents or whoever raised you.

For fun, have a chat with some folks that live across the pond. Many times the news they hear varies substantially from what we are told here in the states. It's not that bad information is being given here, it's the way it's presented and the "spin" that can be put on it. Omission of information is as bad and sometimes worse that false information. Want to see an example? Watch the same news story broadcast on FoxNews and MSNBC relating to the war overseas (or similar). Same story different spins. Basically what I'm getting at is the old addage, don't believe everything you read and see on TV.

 

You're right, people are cattle..they just follw the herd.