Do u think the oil companies would ever let us convert to solar, water power, electric cars?
by admin on Monday, October 10th, 2011 | 9 Comments
we have had the knowledge of using alternative power for over 4 decades, but why aren’t we there yet? Do u believe the oil companies, Dupont, GM and all the others have shelved these ideas for their own gain?
It is not any oil company’s decision to let us do those things. It is beyond their control.
“we have had the knowledge of using alternative power for over 4 decades, but why aren’t we there yet?”
Having the knowledge is the first step, the second is analyzing if it is practical, and if it can compete with what exists. Here is where alternative energy becomes less attractive. It’s a long term investment, on the order of 20-30 years. It took Brazil 30 years to transition to a sugar cane ethanol fuel economy, and it was a very bumpy ride. Citizens of Brazil were very upset with their government during the transition because it incurred a lot of economic hardship, but the ends did justify the means for them.
When oil prices go up, these ideas become more practical, but several times now where we get to the edge where we start to seriously consider transitioning to alternative energy, oil prices drop, and it then seems silly to go all in on alternative energy, even if it is a smart long term strategy.
I thought Obama was supposed to be the answer to this situation. I thought all we had to do was get rid of bush and Cheney.
No they haven’t shelved them, as a matter of fact they have been proponents for them. The problem for those that you mention, is that they are no cost efficient for what they produce.
They’ve tried to hide most of the knowledge gained from alternative energy. It is more “productive” to keep selling the people cars that will fall apart than to make mostly self sufficient vehicles. Yes, they have done so for their own gain.
its not the oil companies that control all of this, they don’t have anything to do with it , its like blaming a donut shop for selling donuts or a coffee shop for selling coffee … think a little!
Just because the technology has been “available” does not mean that it has been “viable.”
It’s nice to abdicate personal responsibility to big, bad boogeymen like Big Oil, but the fact is they are a reflection of reality, not the dictators of it. “Oil” is not just gasoline and cars…it is most of the electricity generated in this country, it is the plastics used in everyday life (including, ironically, all those components required to “go green.”)
The technology to create artificial blood is also available, but that doesn’t change the fact that 100% of humans are still dependant on the real stuff.
So the question remains, how much of a lifestyle change have YOU and your family made over the last 4 decades? How much more are you willing to pay for food when farmers become the “Big Oil” of the next century? Are you willing to pay $50,000 for a car that goes 60 mph and has an effective range of 200 miles?
We live in a nation where humble nobodies become billionaires based on their big ideas…UPS broke the US Postal monopoly….FEDEX beat UPS with their next-day service…do you honestly think if alternate energy were so easy someone (besides Al Gore and T. Boone Pickens) would be getting rich off it right now?
I think that the market will demand alternative energy when it is a competitive industry in the market…RIght now solar energy is only an option for government buildings and the super wealthy….the average cost to build an “off grid” 5 KV solar system to power your house is around 75 thousand dollars….You would have to live in it for 52 years to even break even on the cost of the solar system versus the average cost of powering your home with coal fire electricity.
Water power is already a heavily used commoditiy…virtually every state in the nation uses hydroelectric plants at dams…but the power they generate typically is for rural areas and cannot power large metropolisis…In the Mojave desert they have the entire landscape of the desert filled with wind farms….wind mills as far as the eye can see….you can’t even see what the mountains look like because every square inch of the desert is covered with white wind mills….and even with this massive array of wind energy…they are only able to generate 20% of Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs electrical needs.
People want to force everyone to use renewable energy…but there are no applications where it is viable on any sort of practical level.
When wind and solar arrays are able to power the city of Los Angeles then maybe we will have something that they can go to market with…otherwise the government is forcing people to pay three times or four times as much for energy because they want to force us to be “environmentally conscientious” trust me I used to be a card carrying member of Greenpeace…but I have seen that there are no practical applications at this point and people need to be able to feed and clothe their children instead of paying $800.00 electric bills.
Let the market tell us when renweable energy is viable….not the politicians forcing it down our throats….
I understand the idealistic perspective of wanting a pollution free world where everyone lives off the power generated by the sun….but we are a long way off from being able to harness that power and until someone figures out how to do so practically….we need to be realistic about the feasibility of these ideas….instead of being realistic…Washington DC is barreling forward with legislation and tax code that basically punishes the people and organizations that power this country…all while subsidizing energy sources that are COMPLETELY unable to keep up with demand.
The market is smarter than we give it credit for…everyone wants renewable energy in place….but the technology needs to be there first…and we can’t call Dupont and GM evil monopolist when they are the only organizations providing practical options.
Alternative energies are not the oil companies responsibilities. What they do best in find, produce, and bring to market oil products. Their only decision with alternative energy is whether it is a good fit into their current business and is it good for their shareholders.
If you want you can learn how to convert your car to run on water already at:
http://www.thegas4free.blogspot.com