|
|
|
#31
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
What if we made bio-diesel from plants we don't eat or even algae, like I have seen on programs on TV? How would this drive up the costs of food supply? unless farmers grow for bio instead of food, like they are already doing with corn for ethanol. Not looking for a lenthly discussion on what we should or should not be doing but I just sounds simple when people casually talk about it.
__________________
1999 E300 TD 190,000 1996 Passat TDI 225,000-sold 1996 E300 120,000-sold 1998 Jetta TDI 186,000 -sold 1983 Chev Suburban C20 6.2-sold |
#32
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
This requires land and agriculture requires land also. They both also require fresh water. People casually talk about it because they don't understand the magnitude of the problem and how much biomass it takes to even get 1 gallon of ethanol/biodiesel.
__________________
1981 300SD 512k OM603 |
#33
|
||||
|
||||
Hmm
Well the fresh water issue is an interesting one that you bring up.
However...desalinization technologies are advancing constantly, and the use of atomic energy (like creating fresh water on a submarine) allow roughly 25 years before the rods need to be changed (creating another problem of nuclear waste, I know) Just today, the Brazilian state run oil company found another offshore field which would possibly have 8 billion barrels of oil in reserve. And speaking of tar sands, sure they may seem like they aren't feasible at this point, but so was putting someone in space. Or creating a machine that could fly. Or sailing without falling off the side of the earth. Doom and gloom is good in that it gives us a worst case scenario, but so many people seem to forget the ingenuity of human beings. So many things were never going to be feasible; routine air travel, routine missions to outer space, the automobile overcoming the horse. All of these things took place in less than 100 years...hell.. 1893: Karl Benz creates the "first" automobile. Fast forward ten years.. The Wright Flyer: 1903, first plane. Ford Model T: 1908, brings motorized transportation to the masses. First scheduled airline flight: 1914 First Jet Commercial Airplane: 1952, Dehavilland Comet First Human in Space: Yuri Garin, 1961 First Human on the Moon: 1969 All these things seemed impossible...but all came to fruition in a span 76 years If there is one thing I have faith in, its the ingenuity of the human being.
__________________
http://www.betten.mercedescenter.com...n_banner_1.jpg 1976 300D 190,000 Miles Colorado Beige 1975 300D Parts Car 78,000 Miles Rustbucket Also Colorado Beige 1984 190D 2.2 (Dad's) 156,000 miles Champagne Metallic Clearcoat |
#34
|
|||
|
|||
No one is saying that finding additional energy is impossible, just expensive. There is no shortage of energy, there is a shortage of cheap energy. All these alternatives are technically feasible (and have been for decades), but they are not going to compete with $130/barrel oil. When conventional energy prices get up to a reasonable level, these alternatives will start to become cost effective. As long as we have cheap oil, it's not going to happen on a large scale.
|
#35
|
||||
|
||||
I don't want to sound like a hippie, but...hemp would be an EXCELLENT source of plant oil.
You literally don't need to do anything to it, it grows damn near anywhere, and you can harvest it twice a year. Still trying to figure out why it magically disappeared from agriculture back in the 30s or so. |
#36
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
|
#37
|
|||
|
|||
I need one of those "back to the future" lighting rods on my car.
|
#38
|
|||
|
|||
I second that, I would go back and buy some Microsoft stock when it first went public, that way I would not care about fuel prices.
__________________
1999 E300 TD 190,000 1996 Passat TDI 225,000-sold 1996 E300 120,000-sold 1998 Jetta TDI 186,000 -sold 1983 Chev Suburban C20 6.2-sold Last edited by dauber; 05-22-2008 at 11:12 PM. |
#39
|
|||
|
|||
We tend to speculate on the effects of higher diesel fuel prices. I also am somewhat concerned as it all downloads with higher general energy costs.
For example if the bubble does not burst some people will be hard pushed to heat their homes in the next winter. It also has to impact just about everything else at some point. Is their still enough room to increase the income of north americans further at the individual level to compensate? Plus the ongoing national debts with a declining economy. I feel a lot of fundemental economic laws have been violated and just might come home to roost. Already there has been some mention of the payment for offshore energy required in eurodollars. That might be serious if it happens. If energy costs escalate too fast it could be hard to cope with for many. |
Bookmarks |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|