I keep hearing a radio commercial in which some interest group asks me to contact my Congressperson and urge her, in my case, to vote for more drilling for oil and gas in the US.
As much as high oil prices hurt us in the short term, they are good for us in the long run. America is still full of smart people with brilliant ideas about how we can power the things that make modern life possible.
Everyone has heard of the magic carburetor that would get 200 mpg, if only the oil companies would allow it to be brought to market. That is a load of nonsense. We have inefficient cars precisely because oil has been cheap and plentiful. As long as oil remained cheap and plentiful, there was no incentive to change things. Now that oil is sky high, incentive abounds.
The market will soon be dominated by light weight electric cars, energy production from alternative sources, such as wind, ocean currents, biofuels and a host of things we can't even imagine today. But only if the price of oil remains high.
I won't be calling my Congressperson.
If you are inclined, please look at this presentation by Amory Lovins about hypercars. Click on 'Launch Interactive". It's a bit long, but worth the time. It's from a NOVA presentation on PBS. You will have a delay between the end of one segment and the start of the next, so be patient.
Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgmental and cranky
10 comments:
I agree.
India, being partly socialist, has always given subsidies on petrol, diesel and LPG. Now, the prices are too high and the government has had to cut them. The cushion has been taken away and everyone is crying about it. There are protests and demonstrations, and opposition parties are using this for their own political gain. The current government, the best amongst the worst, will definitely lose the elections for the next term.
Have you seen this documentary yet?
http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com/
I remember in the 70s with the gas lines, these cars were being used in Sacramento at the Capital. Nothing but positive reviews and slowly Solar started. Then the cars disappeared. This film explains why.
We all know that the possibilities for more mileage etc can be....but that does mean less profit for those who live of it.
Until we wake up, and stop accepting what's handed to us without forethought, we will get the usual.....
One of my right-wing friends sent me an e-mail recently about Al Gore calling for gas prices to be set at $5 per gallon. I don't remember Al saying that, but I have a feeling he may have said something similar to what you've said here -- that petroleum in our country has long been priced artificially low, and innovation won't occur until those prices rise.
Youtube has some short videos on drilling --people are letting Texas "energy" companies drill down into their backyards in some states.
This is a fabulous short piece on what they want to do, or are starting to do in the Catskill Mtns. Since the Catskills are filled with poor people, hunters, and a middle class people with summer bungalows or cabins, the mountains are ready to be taken advantage of.
Save our Catskills:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztgfajXkvf8
Dennis wonders if the Gem car would be usable year round/ on most roads in AZ
??
Most homes in the LA basin have their mineral rights reserved - they can't drill from the surface, but they can come at it from the side.
I wonder how many people know that they stop owning their land once you get 500 feet deep?
I wish cars were designed for transportation, instead of for showing off, then the roads would be safer and cars would be much more fuel efficient.
we should be stewards of our land, not owners. I agree with Kurt on the show off appeal of cars for many jerks. find some other way to show off-- like your name on a plaque at a children's hospital for your donations.
Maybe you should contact your Congressperson and urge her to vote against more drilling for oil and gas in the US.
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