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The Long and Slippery Road
Author: BobR    Date: 06/18/2010 11:06:44

The ongoing oil disaster in the Gulf has renewed discussion about our dependence on oil and what to do about it. It's very easy to say we should "stop drilling" and "switch to clean energy". At some point, it will be absolutely necessary, and the sooner we start preparing for it, the better. But what does that entail? What logistics are involved, and what other products are we going to have to modify to get away from oil?

People look to electricity as a solution. Wind and solar energy are green, right? With electricity, we can get away from gasoline cars, and coal-fired power plants. But let's look at these realistically:

First, there's infrastructure. We need places to put wind turbines where it's almost always windy. We need places of unobstructed sunlight to put solar panels. And then we need to get the electricity from these places to where it's needed. These all entail large construction projects that will take time. These all involve dedicating large swathes of land (at least for the solar panels). And in a lot of cases, they involve NIMBY objections to the construction. Solar cells also generally require cadmium (as do certain batteries), which is not an abundant mineral and must be mined. Newer technology may make this less of a problem, but there is still the issue for both solar and wind that the devices to capture the energy must be fabricated, delivered to the site, installed, and maintained. This will require a financial commitment, likely to come from the federal government.

The second aspect of this is cars. We already have electric cars, but how practical are they for widespread use? They can be easily charged by people that have a garage or park in the driveway. What about people that live in apartments (arguably greener than houses), especially high-rises? This would require apartment buildings to install charging stations for the tenant to use. The biggest problem, of course, is the length of time required to recharge the car's batteries. It makes venturing more than 50-60 miles from home impractical. Who wants to buy a car that they can only drive a limited number of miles per day? It makes car-based vacations impossible (or at least highly impractical). People with enough money to have a "commuting" car, and a gas car for other stuff can go this route, but it will certainly dissuade others.

Once an electric car that can be recharged in 3-5 minutes is introduced, though, you will see gas stations everywhere putting in charging stations. At that point, the gas-powered car will quickly become a relic. Until then, though, they will not be going away soon.

The other unspoken problem of moving away from petroleum, though, is all of the other products that make use of the refined oil, including jet fuel, propane, and the very roads we drive on:

http://www.wikinvest.com/images/thumb/0/01/Refiner_Products.gif/400px-Refiner_Products.gif


Everything made of plastic comes from oil. Certainly some of that can be reformulated to use vegetable oil instead, but that means growing a lot more vegetation to produce the oil required to replace the products from petroleum. This means lots of farmland (and irrigation water) being allocated just for "disposable" consumer products.

It also means people changing their habits. It means going back to wax paper and jars instead of plastic wrap and tupperware... rubber instead of plastic where flex is required... metal, wood, and glass for product shells and delivery containers. Factories everywhere will need to be retooled.

And yes, WILL is the correct word here, because eventually it must happen because eventually we WILL run out of oil. The sooner we start transitioning, the better. But the key word is "transition", because this will require decades to complete. It's a long road to travel; the sooner we get started on the journey, the better.


 

48 comments (Latest Comment: 06/18/2010 23:26:06 by trojanrabbit)
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Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 12:34:49
Excellent blog this morning Bobber. I wasn't aware that Solar Panels required Cadmium.

Comment by wickedpam on 06/18/2010 12:42:34
Morning



Okay I can't put a jar in my lunch bag it makes salad eating a little difficult - I do however still use wax paper for various things. I would love to have an electic commuter car - we travel roughly 50 miles in the course of a day - I'll just have to convice the big boss to let me charge up the car at work so I can be 100% sure we make it home.



Although, I'm thinking this could be a money maker too - charging stations to replace parking meters hhmmmm

Comment by TriSec on 06/18/2010 12:53:40
Morning, folks.



According to Bobby Kennedy, there is enough solar energy in the US Southwest to supply the entire country with enough electricity. The challenge is the transportation network; there is simply no way to get electricity from Arizona to where it needs to go right now. There are regional nets; New England buys a huge chunk of electricity from Hydro Quebec, but that's only a few hundred miles of transit.



It took well over a century for the industrial revolution to take hold and get us to where we are now. I would put the current crop of NIMBYs in the same boat as the Luddites. Eventually, history will see them as nothing more than a quaint footnote. It's tougher for those of us that believe in this; I know that I won't live to see any of the changes. Maybe even Javier won't see them in his lifetime. I'd sure like to see what the world looks like in the year 2160, though.





Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 13:03:56
Oh happy Friday, BTW!

Comment by TriSec on 06/18/2010 13:17:29
Quote by Raine:

Oh happy Friday, BTW!




Bah.



The Lakers bought the refs, are all on the juice, and were obviously smoking joints in the locker room at halftime last night.



I still might smoke that Hoyo de Monterey I was saving for tonight, though.



<--- Boston Sports Fan.



Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 13:19:49
Oh TRi... My lovely little ray of Sunshine...

Comment by BobR on 06/18/2010 13:21:26
Quote by TriSec:

Quote by Raine:

Oh happy Friday, BTW!




Bah.



The Lakers bought the refs, are all on the juice, and were obviously smoking joints in the locker room at halftime last night.



I still might smoke that Hoyo de Monterey I was saving for tonight, though.



<--- Boston Sports Fan.



I suppose the fact that they're the 2nd best team in the country and only lost by 4 points isn't much help for the average Boston fan, huh?



Even those that are "fair weather" basketball fans?

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 13:22:22
This is funny...

Joke: How to Spot a Republican



A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."



The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.



"She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be an Obama Democrat."



"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"



"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."



The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Republican."



"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"



"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You've risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault."



Comment by wickedpam on 06/18/2010 13:29:29


Comment by TriSec on 06/18/2010 13:31:04
Quote by BobR:



Even those that are "fair weather" basketball fans?




Them's fighting words, sir.

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 13:33:51
WTH?????





That hurts.

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 13:35:44
Yes, it's EXACTLY like that Rush -- You are such a student of history.

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 13:36:19
Tony Hayword reminded me of Alberto Gonzales yesterday.







Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 13:37:21
Rush Glenn and Weiner like to throw poop and see what sticks.

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 13:54:24
The blog today has me wondering. I wonder how different the world would have been if Edison had succeeded with his goldenrod project:



Inventor Thomas Edison experimented with goldenrod to produce rubber, which it contains naturally. Edison created a fertilization and cultivation process to maximize the rubber content in each plant. His experiments produced a 12 foot tall plant that yielded as much as 12 percent rubber. The rubber produced through Edison's process was resilient and long lasting. The tires on the Model T given to him by his friend Henry Ford were made from goldenrod. Examples of the rubber can still be found in his laboratory, elastic and rot free after more than 50 years. However, even though Edison turned his research over to the U.S. government a year before his death, goldenrod rubber never went beyond the experimental stage.




Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone were friends of his. Firestone is said to have been interested in this domestic rubber -- But it never came to fruition.



Can you imagine if this has happened?

Comment by wickedpam on 06/18/2010 14:01:16
goldenrod? the weed that grows on the side of the road and leads to many allergy attacks? that goldenrod?





Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 14:02:53
Quote by wickedpam:

goldenrod? the weed that grows on the side of the road and leads to many allergy attacks? that goldenrod?



Pretty much. HE was working on developing the strain to produce more rubber.



But yes, THAT goldenrod. Life as we know it would be totally different.



Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 14:04:55
Comment by wickedpam on 06/18/2010 14:10:30
Quote by Raine:

Quote by wickedpam:

goldenrod? the weed that grows on the side of the road and leads to many allergy attacks? that goldenrod?



Pretty much. HE was working on developing the strain to produce more rubber.



But yes, THAT goldenrod. Life as we know it would be totally different.







I wonder if it would have been less toxic and would have been recycleable?

Comment by BobR on 06/18/2010 14:14:00
Quote by wickedpam:

Quote by Raine:

Quote by wickedpam:

goldenrod? the weed that grows on the side of the road and leads to many allergy attacks? that goldenrod?



Pretty much. HE was working on developing the strain to produce more rubber.



But yes, THAT goldenrod. Life as we know it would be totally different.







I wonder if it would have been less toxic and would have been recycleable?


Don't confuse rubber and plastic. Rubber is made from tree sap.



Comment by wickedpam on 06/18/2010 14:16:52
Quote by BobR:

Quote by wickedpam:

Quote by Raine:

Quote by wickedpam:

goldenrod? the weed that grows on the side of the road and leads to many allergy attacks? that goldenrod?



Pretty much. HE was working on developing the strain to produce more rubber.



But yes, THAT goldenrod. Life as we know it would be totally different.







I wonder if it would have been less toxic and would have been recycleable?


Don't confuse rubber and plastic. Rubber is made from tree sap.







I wasn't - I was thinking of all those mountains of tires

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 14:19:51
Quote by wickedpam:





I wonder if it would have been less toxic and would have been recycleable?


If I recall correctly (we went to the Edison Lab in Ft. Myers) it is less toxic, not sure about recyclable -- But if a tire can last for 50 years... It might not be needed.



Henry Ford also intended for cars to run on ethanol, and if memory serves me correctly Hemp was a big factor in it's production. Somewhere along the line, someone decided oil was the way to go for the auto industry.



Now I don;t think we would have had an industrial revolution with out oil, and coal-- etc. But I do think the advent of introducing it to the transportation industry for personal use by consumers may have been a big mistake.



On the other hand, it made things VERY inexpensive for a long time -- someone was going to eventually have to pay the price.





Comment by TriSec on 06/18/2010 14:26:06
Only loosely associated with today's blog content:



You could get on a trolley car in a suburb of Boston 100 years ago and ride all the way to Washington, DC. (with multiple transfers, of course.)



Just in this city alone, there were literally dozens of subway lines and independent rail carriers that died a slow death after WWII when the auto took over.



Getting back to something like that, at least in the heavily-congested NEC would help with our oil dependence...other densely populated areas of the country could probably do it, to. But of course, it would have to become a national priority, like beating the Russkies to the moon.



(And here's an exercise that shouldn't take all day....check out the wider streets where you live. Look at a map if you have to; it shouldn't be that hard to figure out which ones used to have a streetcar line on them.)





Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 14:47:58
Quote by BobR:

Don't confuse rubber and plastic. Rubber is made from tree sap.



Most of the tires we have now are made from Synthetic Rubber, and therefore-- oil based, I thought.

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 14:49:15
Rubber is really from Rainforests etc. Therefore that too is not a sustainable source.



The blog really sent me down the rabbit hole today.

Comment by Scoopster on 06/18/2010 14:53:34
Morning all & Happy Fridee!



Got a World Cup update here.. at halftime Slovenia leads the USA 2-0. The refs in this match are also extra sucky - they called a handball-yellow card on a US player who got beaned right in the FACE with the ball.



Last time I looked there was no nose on one's hand!

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 14:55:07
2-0? Eep.



Come on

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 14:55:36
What? It's too early for a public flogging?



Tell that to the people suffering in the gulf.

Comment by Scoopster on 06/18/2010 15:02:05
Gooooooooal USA!



Ok that's one need at least one more to equalize..

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 15:03:59
We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using Natures inexhaustible sources of energy — sun, wind and tide. ... I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.



-- Thomas Edison, 1931 in a conversation with Friend and colleague, Harvey Firestone

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 15:04:24
Quote by Scoopster:

Gooooooooal USA!



Ok that's one need at least one more to equalize..


awesome!

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 15:12:24
Oh I love John Fugelsang -- he is so even keeled.





Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 15:19:18
Joe Barton would like to apologize to this cat.

Comment by Scoopster on 06/18/2010 15:35:19
GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLL!



Edit: Argh they almost scored a third time.. but got called offsides. :(

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 15:46:19
Clearly the dispersants aren't working.



I will not post the pictures here. they are far too disturbing to look at. But if animals are showing up looking that way, they aren't working.



I don't like the use of them either, but somehow, I feel that the idea that BP is trying to hide this catastrophe with dispersants is a little not quite right.



I will not go into conspiracy territory, but I just don't think they are using them, as bad as they are, for the purpose of hiding this.





Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 15:47:14
Quote by Scoopster:

GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLL!



Edit: Argh they almost scored a third time.. but got called offsides. :(


So we are TIED? AWESOME!!!



(thanks for the updates Scoop... ) I take it you got the day off!

Comment by Scoopster on 06/18/2010 15:50:11
Quote by Raine:

Quote by Scoopster:

GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLL!



Edit: Argh they almost scored a third time.. but got called offsides. :(


So we are TIED? AWESOME!!!



(thanks for the updates Scoop... ) I take it you got the day off!


Nope! Streaming the game at work..



Aaand that's a final - 2-2 tie match!

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 15:53:55
Quote by Scoopster:

Quote by Raine:

Quote by Scoopster:

GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLL!



Edit: Argh they almost scored a third time.. but got called offsides. :(


So we are TIED? AWESOME!!!



(thanks for the updates Scoop... ) I take it you got the day off!


Nope! Streaming the game at work..



Aaand that's a final - 2-2 tie match!
AWESOME!!!! I'll take a tie!!







Comment by wickedpam on 06/18/2010 15:56:54
Quote by Raine:

Clearly the dispersants aren't working.



I will not post the pictures here. they are far too disturbing to look at. But if animals are showing up looking that way, they aren't working.



I don't like the use of them either, but somehow, I feel that the idea that BP is trying to hide this catastrophe with dispersants is a little not quite right.



I will not go into conspiracy territory, but I just don't think they are using them, as bad as they are, for the purpose of hiding this.









jeez, why do I get the feeling there'd be a better result if we just flew over and poured Dawn into the Gulf

Comment by livingonli on 06/18/2010 16:18:47
Good morning everyone. Crashed out this morning. Even on my nights off I end up going to bed late.

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 16:21:49
Thank you Senator Sanders.



THANK YOU!!!

Comment by Raine on 06/18/2010 16:25:02
Quote by wickedpam:

Quote by Raine:

Clearly the dispersants aren't working.



I will not post the pictures here. they are far too disturbing to look at. But if animals are showing up looking that way, they aren't working.



I don't like the use of them either, but somehow, I feel that the idea that BP is trying to hide this catastrophe with dispersants is a little not quite right.



I will not go into conspiracy territory, but I just don't think they are using them, as bad as they are, for the purpose of hiding this.









jeez, why do I get the feeling there'd be a better result if we just flew over and poured Dawn into the Gulf
Because it probably would.



You reminded me, I am going to buy Dawn this weekend.

Comment by TriSec on 06/18/2010 16:43:04
I saw a snippet in the story that should give you pause. One of the experts quoted said that it would be best to just kill the birds instead of trying to wash them. Like Rachel said from her visit to Queen Bess Island, if you see a bird cleaning itself, it's dead anyway from the ingested oil, no matter what we can do with detergents.





Comment by livingonli on 06/18/2010 19:30:29
Check my new facebook status.

Comment by TriSec on 06/18/2010 20:09:02
*tap tap*



This thing on?



Comment by Will in Chicago on 06/18/2010 20:42:16
Hello, bloggers! BobR, thank you for an interesting blog. It will not be easy to find solutions to the challenges that lie ahead of us, but we will not find them if we do not start.

Comment by trojanrabbit on 06/18/2010 23:26:06
shrug



The NBA lost a fan 2 years ago when they demonstrated contempt for the fans by scheduling East coast Finals games at 9+PM. I watched only the championship clinching game. Same scheduling garbage this year, but this time not even a Game 7 against the Lakers could draw me to a TV last night.



The Lakers earned their championship by having the better regular season record, getting home court and all the advantages that entails, especially from the "referees".



Officiating in all sports has gotten steadily worse, but none more so than the NBA. Tim Donaghy anyone?