With the arrival of Peak Oil, the curtain has closed on Act 1 of the drama Petroleum Man. What will happen in Act 2? Chekhov said, "If there's a gun on the wall at the beginning of the play, by the end it must go off." In the world's nuclear arsenal are many guns on the wall. If life copies art, will there be an Act 3 in which the players, having learned their lesson the hard way, live sustainably? To explore these and other questions... FTW's Act 2 Blog. Read, comment, take heart! Orkin
During breakfast this morning my wife had the TV tuned to a "news" program which was running a feature on the future glorious technological economy, which will run on hydrogen and biofuels. I almost burst out laughing at their absurd predictions that in a few years' time we'll all be driving cars running on these wonder fuels.
And here's an article on the new ethanol bill. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6193
Despite all these problems, the biggest one is often overlooked: ethanol production needs copious quantities of fossil fuels. Oil has topped $70/bbl. That means ethanol inputs get correspondingly more expensive. Once the oil economy crashes, the ethanol industry will crash with it. Obviously elites know this, so we can conclude that the biofuel industry is just a giant scam to (1) prop up the economy a little longer and (2) allow a few people to get rich off the massive subsidies.
It all comes back to Parallel Bar Therapy. Trains. Railways, vastly expanded in capacity & reach- renewable propelled, ASAP. "Second Dimension Surface Transport Logistics Platform"
Look at Association For The Study Of Peak Oil & Gas Article 374. See tahoevalleylines.org.
If you are strategic, not cosmetic level, obtain copy of Van Fleet's RAIL TRANSPORT & THE WINNING OF WARS, American Association of Railroads in Washington DC. Learn the lexicon of the railway network as it ran in the USA thru the mid twentieth century... And why we need rail line rehab before the attacks begin here.
When Ike signed the Freeway Bill in 1956, it should be noted, the USA was a lending not a borrowing nation, and we were ENERGY INDEPENDENT. People in responsibility, academics and corporate stuffed shirts like to huff & puff(CATO & CERA come to mind)about the "Impossibility of Being Energy Independent..." They are right about it never happening if they have anything to do about it! They should get out of the way- and have the wisdom to not say things that justify continuing wasteful energy/transport policy.
These globalization blowhards might exhibit some circumspection for a change, and try to understand what Peaking Oil really means to themselves, their families and, oyez, their country. We are not going to consume our way thru the Oil Interregnum-
OPEC countries are announcing, some discreetly and others in a more in-your-face manner, that they are no longer going to fight wasteful use of their oil legacy by constantly trying to pump & sell more. Figure that what that means for yourselves, globalization gurus! Have a complete report in this site by Labor Day, please...
America got itself into this oil tarbaby dance thinking it could kiss the local railway branchline and Electric Interurban network goodbye. Maybe that was a bit premature, as railways are going to prove once again to be America's best possible Guarantors of Societal & Commercial Cohesion when energy & homeland security are determinant.
Add renewable source to the post 911DAY railway renaissance, put trucking back to pick-up & delivery role, rethink the 4000+ mile Texas truck Corridor now under way, eventually to run from the Panama Canal to Canada. By making large-scale renewable infrastructure, linked with railway trunk & connecters the basis of this big project, imagine the lowering of unit cost for renewable infrastructure as a result. Any readers in Texas, points north along this corridor? Hello!
Come ON, you MBA's, let's get current on why we fight! The water problem is going to short-circuit GM'S ethanol parachute. The oil problem is going to short-circuit any and all manufactured solutions if we delay the transport network feature.
We have to get going on the North American Water & Power Alliance to Save GM, it appears. (Recharge the Oglalla Aquifer with McKenzie River Watershed H20) Stop this bickering and roll up your sleeves, movers & shakers, we have more than a few big jobs ahead. And we better get going before we run out of gas.
As for CERA & CATO, apologies if they are warranted. BUT- If Hirsch report is to be given credence, then It is organizations like these four letter misleaders that have strung out the current Fossils overshoot, and therefore it is they who should apologize to the American people, and on their knees to their own loved ones.
The Oil Drum has posted the full text of a speech on energy resources given by Rear Admiral Hyman Rickover in 1957. I've only made it about midway through the article so far (will finish it later), but it is really amazing in its detailed foresightedness. We can't say we weren't warned! Her it is:
Yes, Libby predictably fell on a rubber sword conveniently provided.
Now, I don't personally know any Japanese politicians, but I know a few people who do. Over the last few days I have talked with two of those people about perceptions of peak oil among Japanese politicians. Allow me to preface this by quoting one of the founding members of Japan's Green Party (whom I did know personally), who said, "People will vote for whomever promises them the most extravagance."
Well, that about sums it up. According to my sources, it seems that most Japanese politicians are aware of peak oil to one extent or another, but they can't talk about it publicly. First of all, some politicians are connected with the oil industry, so they are muzzled. Second, talking about peak oil would mean telling people they will be slipping back toward a 19th-century lifestyle, and that means NO VOTES. Third, the whole political system is geared toward today, with little thought for tomorrow. No one is thinking with a long time line, like 100 years in the future.
To further aggravate the situation, there is the universal tendency of politicians to avoid responsibility for anything bad that happens. So even politicians who know about peak oil will deny that they have even heard of it. That way, when the bottom falls out, they'll have plausible deniability. "You can't blame me for this crash -- I had no idea."
To conclude, it's a more or less hopeless situation. Those people who know are getting ready, and everyone else will be in some deep doo-doo (except for elites, of course).
Regarding peak oil, like Mike said, when a plane is going down you put on your oxygen mask first...The average american doesn't think about tomorrow that's why they smoke, eat garbage, etc...
I was reviewing this article, http://www.theoildrum.com/story/2006/10/10/171011/86 which is quite sanguine about Brazilian ethanol. But there's an issue that is not addressed here. The energy of oil can be used to produce and transport oil, and you still come out ahead. So you see oil used for the vehicles and ships that are used in oil production, and oil used to propel the tankers and tank trucks that transport crude and petroleum products. The power of oil is incredible. So, the questions I would like to ask are, can ethanol be used to fuel the machinery used in sugarcane and ethanol production and still come out ahead? Can ethanol power the ships which transport ethanol to US or European markets and still come out ahead? Obviously, oil can do this because it built an entire civilization on the shoulders of its huge energy surplus. If biofuels are going to "free us from foreign oil" and keep the petroleum civilization going, don't they have to pass the same test? If not, what am I missing?
Now, I may just be crazy, but I think that Keith Olberman gave Mike a shout-out in his 4th of July comments portion of his program....check it out, wait till there's about 1:23 left to play.
Ricefarmer, I saw an article recently commenting that US ethanol refineries were using 300 tons of coal per barrel of ethanol produced. Biofuels will never be sustainable because fossil fuels still provide the fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, power the tractors, run the refineries, and even provide the transportation of the biofuel to end use (note also ethanol cannot be pumped through pipes like that dead dinosaur). Biodiesel is just recycled dead dinosaur. It's all a charade, musical chairs for monkeys. Meanwhile, tax dollars go to well-connected con men and precious time is frittered away on ever-receding techno-mirages.
Whitehouse supoenaed. Don't worry they'll find a pardon somewhere. All darth vader needs is the apathy of the asleep at the wheel americans and a new prez if there is one, besides he's already got the supremes. No doubt there'll be more false flag disruptions to distract from the obvious guilt.
During breakfast this morning my wife had the TV tuned to a "news" program which was running a feature on the future glorious technological economy, which will run on hydrogen and biofuels. I almost burst out laughing at their absurd predictions that in a few years' time we'll all be driving cars running on these wonder fuels.
ReplyDeleteAnd here's an article on the new ethanol bill.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6193
Despite all these problems, the biggest one is often overlooked: ethanol production needs copious quantities of fossil fuels. Oil has topped $70/bbl. That means ethanol inputs get correspondingly more expensive. Once the oil economy crashes, the ethanol industry will crash with it. Obviously elites know this, so we can conclude that the biofuel industry is just a giant scam to (1) prop up the economy a little longer and (2) allow a few people to get rich off the massive subsidies.
It all comes back to Parallel Bar Therapy. Trains. Railways, vastly expanded in capacity & reach- renewable propelled, ASAP. "Second Dimension Surface Transport Logistics Platform"
ReplyDeleteLook at Association For The Study Of Peak Oil & Gas Article 374. See tahoevalleylines.org.
If you are strategic, not cosmetic level, obtain copy of Van Fleet's RAIL TRANSPORT & THE WINNING OF WARS, American Association of Railroads in Washington DC. Learn the lexicon of the railway network as it ran in the USA thru the mid twentieth century... And why we need rail line rehab before the attacks begin here.
When Ike signed the Freeway Bill in 1956, it should be noted, the USA was a lending not a borrowing nation, and we were ENERGY INDEPENDENT. People in responsibility, academics and corporate stuffed shirts like to huff & puff(CATO & CERA come to mind)about the "Impossibility of Being Energy Independent..." They are right about it never happening if they have anything to do about it! They should get out of the way- and have the wisdom to not say things that justify continuing wasteful energy/transport policy.
These globalization blowhards might exhibit some circumspection for a change, and try to understand what Peaking Oil really means to themselves, their families and, oyez, their country. We are not going to consume our way thru the Oil Interregnum-
OPEC countries are announcing, some discreetly and others in a more in-your-face manner, that they are no longer going to fight wasteful use of their oil legacy by constantly trying to pump & sell more. Figure that what that means for yourselves, globalization gurus! Have a complete report in this site by Labor Day, please...
America got itself into this oil tarbaby dance thinking it could kiss the local railway branchline and Electric Interurban network goodbye. Maybe that was a bit premature, as railways are going to prove once again to be America's best possible Guarantors of Societal & Commercial Cohesion when energy & homeland security are determinant.
Add renewable source to the post 911DAY railway renaissance, put trucking back to pick-up & delivery role, rethink the 4000+ mile Texas truck Corridor now under way, eventually to run from the Panama Canal to Canada. By making large-scale renewable infrastructure, linked with railway trunk & connecters the basis of this big project, imagine the lowering of unit cost for renewable infrastructure as a result. Any readers in Texas, points north along this corridor? Hello!
Come ON, you MBA's, let's get current on why we fight! The water problem is going to short-circuit GM'S ethanol parachute. The oil problem is going to short-circuit any and all manufactured solutions if we delay the transport network feature.
We have to get going on the North American Water & Power Alliance to Save GM, it appears. (Recharge the Oglalla Aquifer with McKenzie River Watershed H20) Stop this bickering and roll up your sleeves, movers & shakers, we have more than a few big jobs ahead. And we better get going before we run out of gas.
As for CERA & CATO, apologies if they are warranted. BUT- If Hirsch report is to be given credence, then It is organizations like these four letter misleaders that have strung out the current Fossils overshoot, and therefore it is they who should apologize to the American people, and on their knees to their own loved ones.
Nuclear industry revival hits roadblocks
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn12167-nuclear-industry-revival-hits-roadblocks.html
Bush Commutes Libby Prison Sentence
ReplyDeleteThe Oil Drum has posted the full text of a speech on energy resources given by Rear Admiral Hyman Rickover in 1957. I've only made it about midway through the article so far (will finish it later), but it is really amazing in its detailed foresightedness. We can't say we weren't warned! Her it is:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theoildrum.com/node/2724#more
Yes, Libby predictably fell on a rubber sword conveniently provided.
ReplyDeleteNow, I don't personally know any Japanese politicians, but I know a few people who do. Over the last few days I have talked with two of those people about perceptions of peak oil among Japanese politicians. Allow me to preface this by quoting one of the founding members of Japan's Green Party (whom I did know personally), who said, "People will vote for whomever promises them the most extravagance."
Well, that about sums it up. According to my sources, it seems that most Japanese politicians are aware of peak oil to one extent or another, but they can't talk about it publicly. First of all, some politicians are connected with the oil industry, so they are muzzled. Second, talking about peak oil would mean telling people they will be slipping back toward a 19th-century lifestyle, and that means NO VOTES. Third, the whole political system is geared toward today, with little thought for tomorrow. No one is thinking with a long time line, like 100 years in the future.
To further aggravate the situation, there is the universal tendency of politicians to avoid responsibility for anything bad that happens. So even politicians who know about peak oil will deny that they have even heard of it. That way, when the bottom falls out, they'll have plausible deniability. "You can't blame me for this crash -- I had no idea."
To conclude, it's a more or less hopeless situation. Those people who know are getting ready, and everyone else will be in some deep doo-doo (except for elites, of course).
Regarding peak oil, like Mike said, when a plane is going down you put on your oxygen mask first...The average american doesn't think about tomorrow that's why they smoke, eat garbage, etc...
ReplyDeleteGaelicgirl, that speech was a great find!
I was reviewing this article,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theoildrum.com/story/2006/10/10/171011/86
which is quite sanguine about Brazilian ethanol. But there's an issue that is not addressed here. The energy of oil can be used to produce and transport oil, and you still come out ahead. So you see oil used for the vehicles and ships that are used in oil production, and oil used to propel the tankers and tank trucks that transport crude and petroleum products. The power of oil is incredible. So, the questions I would like to ask are, can ethanol be used to fuel the machinery used in sugarcane and ethanol production and still come out ahead? Can ethanol power the ships which transport ethanol to US or European markets and still come out ahead? Obviously, oil can do this because it built an entire civilization on the shoulders of its huge energy surplus. If biofuels are going to "free us from foreign oil" and keep the petroleum civilization going, don't they have to pass the same test? If not, what am I missing?
Now, I may just be crazy, but I think that Keith Olberman gave Mike a shout-out in his 4th of July comments portion of his program....check it out, wait till there's about 1:23 left to play.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU7dY1CXRPk
Ricefarmer, I saw an article recently commenting that US ethanol refineries were using 300 tons of coal per barrel of ethanol produced.
ReplyDeleteBiofuels will never be sustainable because fossil fuels still provide the fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, power the tractors, run the refineries, and even provide the transportation of the biofuel to end use (note also ethanol cannot be pumped through pipes like that dead dinosaur). Biodiesel is just recycled dead dinosaur. It's all a charade, musical chairs for monkeys. Meanwhile, tax dollars go to well-connected con men and precious time is frittered away on ever-receding techno-mirages.
Whitehouse supoenaed. Don't worry they'll find a pardon somewhere. All darth vader needs is the apathy of the asleep at the wheel americans and a new prez if there is one, besides he's already got the supremes. No doubt there'll be more false flag disruptions to distract from the obvious guilt.
ReplyDelete