| Author | Message | ||
     Bobr |
"Here in Florida there is a bill before the legislature that would reduce the state gasoline tax by roughly 10.6 cents a gallon for 2 weeks. This will result in the State losing $50 million in revenue. This is their idea of relief." Hey Zane, Seen the new FL budget? They're cutting a lot of things other than taxes. Doesn't seem to me that we can afford a tax cut. My 2 cents on the oil issue: Oil is now the most precious resource after air and water. Possibly more precious than water since without oil we wouldn't be able to supply water to all the people living where there isn't enough water to support the population. The people that make the most sense to me are those that advocate that we power down, conserve oil, and develop alternatives. The problem is that alternatives include a drastic change in the way we live world-wide. Unlikely to happen. Bob | ||
| Zane |
Bobr, Concur on both the budget and likely hood of people downsizing their life style. I still think that we need to abandon oil as an energy source for vehicles but in the real world that isn’t gonna happen for 20+ years. For it to happen in 20+ years we need to be doing the basic science today. In the mean time we should be drilling domestically for all we’re worth. There are vast reserves in the Gulf of Mexico. Right now we have to stay 125 miles off shore while China is going to be drilling 50 miles from Key West. How much sense does that make? We need to drill Anwar, we need to be drilling in the Dakota’s we need to be drilling in the Gulf. Make my word. When the lights start to go out, it’s the same people who complain about 'spoiling the environment' will be the first to say, “Why did you let this happen?” The real world isn’t really a factor for them. | ||
| Blake |
When the lights start to go out, it’s the same people who complain about 'spoiling the environment' will be the first to say, “Why did you let this happen?” The real world isn’t really a factor for them." Word. | ||
| Cowboy |
It seems to me a lot of people are upset with the oil industary, If you would like to get a large group of people to gether and spend millions of $$ on a dry hole before making a discovery then sell your oil for $20.00 a bbl I am sure no one would mind. It is public demand ,nether the president or oil CO. control demand. | ||
| Xl1200r |
No, but the oil co. can control supply, which controls prices. | ||
| Zane |
No, it’s not the oil industry I’m torqued over. It’s that poor excuse for a congress we have. They pass pork barrel laws to help their friends and to guarantee easy employment when they leave government service. If they spent as much time working toward solving problems as they spend at cocktail parties telling each other how important they are, we wouldn’t have half the issues we have now. I’m torqued at low life shyster lawyers that have screwed over any number of American industries by litigating for their own good instead of the common good. It’s flaming left wing environmentalist who value some spotted snail that only lives in one valley near bum f*ck egypt more than they do people. I like to breathe clean air as much as the next guy but there has to be some compromise to develop and utilize what we need. Oh, and I’m torqued at the Arabs too. If they want to live in the 13th century, fine, have at. Just don’t try to take me back there with you. I remember a time when there was almost parity between the price of oil and the price of wheat. We pledged not to use food as a weapon so what did our sand brothers do? They bent us over every oil barrel they sold us. Maybe it’s time wheat got more expensive for some people? I’m torqued off about a lot of other things but I’ll save that rant for another time. | ||
| Greenlantern |
Anyway you can engineer all that "torque" into a nice air cooled vee that runs on water and does not harm snails?  | ||
| Cowboy |
Zane-- You are looking in the right direction now. we have a lot of leavers we can pull if they will get off thier lazy back sides and get to work on it. | ||
| Zane |
'...and does not harm snails?' Hell, I'm gonna dip 'em in garlic butter and call them escargot!! | ||
| Greenlantern |
Hell, I'm gonna dip 'em in garlic butter and call them escargot!! Call them Sally if that makes you happy! Just get working on that H2o powered stump puller will ya?!  | ||
| Road_thing |
the oil co. can control supply Well, sort of. They can shut in their wells and curtail future drilling, which reduces supply, which raises prices. I assume that's not what you want? Oh, wait, I get it!! You think the oil companies are deliberately holding oil off the market? Wake up, man, oil is almost $120/barrel! The only production that's shut in right now is either mechanically FUBAR or waiting on government permits for production. rt | ||
| Honu |
As far as gasoline supply I can assure you that oil refineries are running their process units wide open. I have been a process operator for 28 years and have never seen a company curtail a units operating capacity except for repairs. | ||
| Zane |
How about a steam powered version of the 1125r? That would run on H2O sort of... I can see it now. A fast run through the twisties, one hand on the throttle the other shovin coal in boiler. Bet she'd be fast...  | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Every company wants to grow bigger/more volume...bar none. It equals profit. Ditto for oil companies. Watch the price of coal " go up a bit" as you sit in the dark because you can't justify/afford coal fired electricity costs because you would rather eat. | ||
| Blake |
Ask yourself who it was that put the brakes on building new refineries and nuclear power plants in America, on pulling oil from ANWAR and from offshore America? Who are you blaming for the current situation? The good news is that we may still have vast reserves of oil ready to exploit when we most need it and others are looking for it. What say you RT? | ||
| Road_thing |
I say let it go to $150 then turn me loose! rt | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
You say what, Blake....lol | ||
| Snowscum |
 Oil is high cause George is falling..... | ||
| Court |
Too funny . . . several years ago you couldn't GIVE AWAY a mothballed nuke. Now they are auctioning off the 63 approved permits. Best power there is . . . . at least in the opinion of lots of us who build powerplants for a living. Court Veteran of Callway and Wolf Creek. | ||
| Xl1200r |
I don't know that I was really insinuatung anything, except for I was adding the last part of the equation for supply and demand. We have a lot of things working for us and a lot "back pocket" solutions, but I don't know how good any of it would be. Would I be willing to pay out the ass for my gas for a while in order to put some pressure on the oil companies? Sure. But if I were india or china, I'd be buying up every barrell that the U.S. didn't, at the lower price point (rememner, less demand mans lower price) and stock pile it somewhere, ANYWHERE until the U.S. starts buying Arab oil again. I can't tell you how excited I am to be alive and young right now and watching all of these new technologies and ideas come to life. What an exciting time. There's nothing worse than watching the United States, a country founded on it's independence, is continually crutched by the supply of a foriegn product. I want to be off foreign oil not for the environment, but to be self-sufficient. Maybe in my lifetime... | ||
| Jramsey |
Court Do you mean Callaway about about 15 miles north of Fulton Mo.Which was a Daniels Int. project? I worked there back in 1980 out of the 698. It was kinda of spooky driving by the state nut house in the dark. | ||
| Jramsey |
Wolf Creek which is in my back yard is a joke. When completed they buried enough brand new construction equipment to build several more power plants. What a waste. | ||
| Naustin |
For what it cost to go to war in Iraq, the US govt. could have put solar panels on the roof of every building in the country, Or, subsidized the construction of an entire hydrogen refueling infracture all accoss the country to make the fuel cell vehicles possible faster than the market would otherwise be able. But, instead, now the President is threatening to veto Alternative Energy Tax Credits and claiming Anwar is the solution to all our problems. (At best a small supply input 10 years in the future.) Who got rich because of Iraq? Who will get rich if we go into Anwar? Whose got something to lose over alternative energy tax credits are implemented? Our government doesn't seem to be really all that interested in American's becoming "energy-independent" - what they're interested in is Americans staying energy dependant - and controlling the playing field. (Message edited by naustin on April 30, 2008) | ||
| Ratbuell |
Court - any way I could talk you into coming to Sabillasville MD and building a small plant on top of a hill (either solar, wind, water, or??) to support a pair of single family homes? We've got 44 acres to play with...LOL. Seriously though, we are getting ready to build within a couple years. I'm going to do any and everything I can to get us off the grid. Spending more when we build is worth it to me if it means spending less down the road. | ||
| Court |
Solar panels are pretty much the purview of the Germans . . . the U. S. screwed that up. the technology went there and the manufacturers soon followed. The Germans now lead the way in solar. | ||
| Gohot |
Well alot can be said about gas prices, not only that, but fe}rtilizer is up from 350 and change to over 600 today, and expected to go to 1500 real soon, ie. by 09. Wait till that hits us. The one thing most of us on the forum have in our favor is our Buell's. Mine, a 98 Cyclone with the standard upgrades will get 60, yes 60 mpg if I accelarate gently and cruise the speed limit using Shell 93 oc. I think we are all in wor a rude awakening when we will have to pare down all of our luxries. and have one car per person and smaller, more afordable ( everything else). Some will go kicking and screaming, some will just get wise and live reasonably. I have a 30 acre farm with 6 outbuildings two for equipment, two for storage, a Deere, a disc, a sprayer, a seed drill, a Dodge van 86, and 98 Buell, I'm a happy camper, and not drowning under the load of owning soo much unnessesary STUFF, I wish you all could be as fortunate as we in the Carolinas | ||
| Benm2 |
http://www.stirlingenergy.com/default.asp What do the Germans have that exceed that? Thermal solar has much better energy conversion than photovoltaic.
Bullshirt. There are people on both sides of the "fence" who are far enough away to have irresponsible, radical viewpoints. Plus regular complainers will never have their porridge just right, they'll always complain about something. | ||
| Blake |
"I say let it go to $150 then turn me loose!" Fine by me! Sounds like a youtube video featuring the RT and acompanied by the appropriate sound track is in order. | ||
| Aesquire |
The issue with solar, be it thermal, solar cells, or home heating is storage. In a Home heating setup, typical systems use melting salts, rock storage, etc. Proper passive design is cost effective up to 90+% efficiencies. Heat your house with a few 100watt light bulbs. Or a very under worked water heater rig. But major power generation is going to need some nifty electrical storage system. Superconducting loop storage? Every step in a conversion process loses power. I've been waiting for Stirling power to catch on for most of my life. Popular Mechanics! Still waiting. ( Still waiting for the hover cars too. ) Though a fixed Sterling installation ( as you linked to ) may indeed be what you need to make them work out. | ||
| Bikerjim99 |
Solar electric panels on every roof, residental and business. Feed the power back into the grid, lower your power costs somewhat. |
