U.S. Oil??

[gwpoky]

Heard today that the US will be again becoming the worlds largest Oil exporter in the not to distant future, will we ever learn. Any thoughts? Must say sustainability will probably go out the window again until the nest crisis yikes, we are a bunch addicts, I think in the long run the rehab will only get more painful if we do not change course soon. Just had to get this out here.

Thank you

[Eli]

I think we should try to live oil (coal gas nuke to) free one day then we would find out if we are addicted or not. I would be the first one shaking, But I would live. Eli

[Jay]

As evidenced by the reactions to being without gasoline after Sandy in the areas most severely hit, it appears to me that most of us have a very hard time imagining anything different than what we are doing now. I seem to spend a fair amount of time thinking and planning how I (we) would handle it if we lost power and or fuel (or the price went up significantly). Jay

[nihiljohn]

I don’t agree that we are addicted to oil/gas/coal/nuke power. It’s just what there is. There is a trade off for every route you take. Want hydro power. It’s clean. It’s renable. You OK with 30 dams in every river in the country? Still not enough. Wind? Solar? I have yet to see a plan for running the furnace on a cold calm night. (right here you cant think about how you can live, think about a city with 2 million people) There arent a lot of real options yet. You come up with a plant you can dry up and mix with a gallon of water and run your car, now you’ve got an option. Things will change but it will be slow and painful for the city people. The country just voted to keep the current federal goverment. As I understand, hundereds of old coal fired electric plants will be closed in the next few years due to EPA mandates. OK. They are not as clean as some. Have you seen any news coverage on the replacement power? What will replace the power that will be lost? I see nothing now that replaces what we have.

[blue80]

I recently did a little research on the US. oil requirements vs. production, and I think I remember it like this.

Saudi Arabia the worlds top producer, produces 17 million barrels per day.
US., 2nd on the list, produces 10 million per day, and uses 17 million.
Russia, 3rd, produces 10 million per day and exports a lot of what they produce.

It is interesting to note that structure heating and cooling is actually a bigger use of fossil fuels than transportation, according to the Dept. of Energy. And over 70% of the GSA budget goes to overhead and maintenance of government buildings….
And that is why more efficient, less disposable structures is a good investment for the nation, and the coming generations…..

[fogish]

I will try to keep this short, I can provide links if people ask. Our rise in oil production comes mainly from shale and it’s financially sustainable if the price of oil is at or above $86/barrel. We are supposed to produce more than Saudi Arabia by 2020, our oil use has been declining and it is predicted to continue.

The coal factories are shutting down for several reasons: They need to install scrubbers to remove mercury, they are past their 30 year lifespan, it’s cheaper to run the newer natural gas plants than the older coal plants.

There is a nuclear option called a LFTR that has passive safety features, no radioactive steam or high pressure systems and the radioactive fluid used turns to slag if it spills, it is in a closed loop system and does not form plutonium like existing reactors. Great for electrical production but does not fix the bigger problem of no oil: we have no synthetic rubber or gaskets or plastics or lubricants, and an even longer list of things that we require to function everyday that we get from oil. Some of them can be replaced with plant based materials and they are working on carbon sequestration, but so far that is mainly for fuel, not to replace the other uses of oil. For me efficient use of energy and a reduction in the use of energy, plus saving oil for the parts it’s used for or finding replacement materials for them is really important.

Obviously I am torn, here I am on the DAP Net forum trying to work with my horses, and yet I have thought so much about how to keep as much of the current semi-suburban lifestyle I live. Like everyone is saying, it’s easy with all the oil we have right now but it will be painful when the supply is limited.

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