tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post6826517646808868545..comments2024-03-24T11:01:27.668-04:00Comments on Resource Insights: The problematic future of U. S. energy investmentKurt Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05330759091950742285noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-17590179851361290962008-08-17T13:37:00.000-04:002008-08-17T13:37:00.000-04:00"renewable energy cannot begin to replace fossil f..."renewable energy cannot begin to replace fossil fuels" is an often repeated fallacy. Consider a few non-random facts: 1- If atmospheric carbon is taxed at $70 per ton-- an not unreasonable assumption over the next 30 years-- a new coal plant will have a lifetime operating cost of about 16 billion dollars. A solar thermal plant with the same total output in the southwest built today using current technology will have a lifetime cost of about 8 billion. 2- Moving energy over long distances as it is now done: ie coal from Wyoming to Georgia by rail costs 2 to 3 times as much per mile vrs moving energy in electrons over HVDC power lines . 3- The well-to-wheel efficiency of electric powered vehicles can easily exceed 100mpg equivalent for heavy steel vehicles not substantially different from today's models, and can exceed 250 mpg for streamlined carbon fiber transportation vehicles like the APTERA.<BR/><BR/>Will we successfully transition to a sustainable society? Highly unlikely, but the problem is a social and political one, not a technical one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-83625701434675947812008-08-09T02:36:00.000-04:002008-08-09T02:36:00.000-04:00Tax Rationing can buy time for the transition of f...Tax Rationing can buy time for the transition of fossil fuel to alternatives. With Tax Rationing, the governments of the world can generate large amount of additional revenue for sustaining economy without pushing up gas price. Details of Tax Rationing was published at http://www.taxrationing.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-29453240960186314552008-08-06T14:59:00.000-04:002008-08-06T14:59:00.000-04:00Very good article.It take about 8 months to recove...Very good article.<BR/><BR/>It take about 8 months to recover the energy needed to construct and install a wind turbine.<BR/><BR/>Not so badAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-73022382069690080092008-08-05T12:59:00.000-04:002008-08-05T12:59:00.000-04:00There is no possibility for a renewable energy eco...There is no possibility for a renewable energy economy. And we do not get "86%" of our energy from fossil fuels. The actual number is over 99%. You have to subtract the energy investment required to build a windmill or a hydro power station. Those costs are considerable. A windmill has to sit there and spin for years just to make up for the amount of energy used to build it. The more we try to build, the further we drive up costs of fossil fuels and raw materials (which also require fossil fuels to extract and process...) <BR/><BR/>I'm not saying it shouldnt be done. America should have at least as many windmills as it has fast food restaurants! I'm just trying to explain why alternative energy investments don't always pan out. EROI needs to be at the forefront of investors' minds before they start ponying up their dough.Iconoclast421https://www.blogger.com/profile/01448094227173926913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-30185294782126489772008-08-04T18:27:00.000-04:002008-08-04T18:27:00.000-04:00Hello Kurt, been awhile, eh? Excellent article. He...Hello Kurt, been awhile, eh? Excellent article. Here's my take on "The problematic future of U.S. energy investment.<BR/><BR/>I do not agree with the "power down" theory, as this can only bring about " a faster, harder die-off. If we are to cushion the fall in anyway, we must "power up" anyway we can.<BR/><BR/> We must begin to use the energy that the sun can provide in the here and now as fossil fuels (ancient sunlight) depletes....(think about this concept, awhile..)<BR/><BR/>If it was electrifaction that got us in this mess, then perhaps, we'll even need MORE of it, to cushion the fall... I realize, that converting all infrastructure to electrifaction would be a major conversion, but what choice do we have?<BR/><BR/>We willnot have to worry about the growth model anytime soon, if this conversion were to take place. Powering most everything from the grid, cars, homes and industry was once a vision of the future. We're half way there...<BR/><BR/>Thanks, yooperyooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11297259993402713368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-82250165659753650322008-08-03T21:58:00.000-04:002008-08-03T21:58:00.000-04:00This is a good roundup of the situation, I think. ...This is a good roundup of the situation, I think. And it looks hopeless.<BR/><BR/>Basically our decision-makers are still, even at this late date, operating under outmoded assumptions and and outdated socioeconomic model.<BR/><BR/>Specifically, the whole idea is still to maintain the current energy-intensive system, with economic growth and a ballooning global consumer society. All that was made possible by the bonanza of cheap, plentiful energy provided by fossil fuels.<BR/><BR/>To achieve a soft landing instead of a crash, our decision-makers would have to (1) admit that the growth model is dead, (2) admit that globalization is dead, (3) admit that consumerism and the industrial model are dead, (3) admit that it is impossible to prop up what fossil fuels have built, and (4) direct investment into a crash program to scale back, power down, and achieve a soft landing into a simpler and much more agrarian socioeconomic system.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, we are not going to see significant investment directed toward things like renewables and energy efficiency, at least until it's far too late. We will continue wasting resources and energy at a prodigious pace in a vain effort to prop up industrialism and consumerism and globalism until the whole shebang collapses under its own weight.<BR/><BR/>Have a nice day!Rice Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09172342023074235356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-46145626526746349612008-08-03T19:20:00.000-04:002008-08-03T19:20:00.000-04:00Thanks so much for taking the time to put this tog...Thanks so much for taking the time to put this together. <BR/><BR/>I remember when I first read the Hirsch report at the end of last year, I had to take a double take at the date, almost counting on my fingers the years remaining from that reports release date. <BR/><BR/>The reality of it left me punch drunk staggering for days.<BR/><BR/>It seems logical to me that once a majority of people get into the deep implications of peak oil, there will be a nation of pacing anger consumed, justice seekers, that will put some of this governmental atrousity in its rightful place. <BR/><BR/>Not that it will solve all of the problems, but it seems to me, it wil get them dancing on their toes.hehe. <BR/><BR/>Thanks again for laying all this out and presenting the present dificulties of our system.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com