BP's recent ad campaign showing us their trajectory toward carbon-neutral fuel sources would be commendable if the lie were not so deceitfully sad. Especially because of the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. The bucolic scenes of hard-hatted men, using cranes to install solar panels, climbing atop giant electric generating windmills and holding up beakers presumably filled with bio-fuels went a long way to getting across the message that they are doing everything in their power to promote sustainability. In the US, the big four oil companies, Exxon/Mobil (#19th largest oil company worldwide), Chevron (#21 worldwide), Shell (#22 worldwide)and Conoco/Phillips (#23 worldwide) along with Great Britain's BP (#17 worldwide) collectively made 25 Billion dollars in the last three months. Sorry, this is old data, they actually made more than that in the most recent quarter. These firms have capital and engineering expertise that could allow them to transform our energy future almost overnight. When the "govie" says that they need to get the sulfur out of diesel fuel or for that matter lead out of gasoline, they have the intellectual resourcefulness, the power and the money to redesign refineries and change their processes while still making a profit. Never mind the fact that they grumbled a bit about having to do the right thing after all these years. doctors and scientists knew for decades that lead, spewed by internal combustion engines, caused both short term injuries and lasting long-term deficiencies in human brains, but we waited to act until it was too late for millions of Americans.
The limited efforts that the fossil fuel industry, or for that matter, the nuclear energy industry make toward doing the right thing are nothing more than attempts to capture the largest portion of the corporate welfare available for transitioning to a more sustainable energy future. If we eliminate any sort of conscience about the matter, we are left with the naked fact that extracting fossilized fuel has been the most lucrative activity that human beings have every engaged in. Would anyone ever want to give that up? Serious flaws exist in the logic that says "Drill baby, drill." Every increase in production, and in the past few years we have seen many, carries increased costs as well. The more technically advanced our methods become, the more dangerous they are, the more opportunities for disaster there are and the more energy we expend to pull that last BTU of energy from the planet. It has been known for decades that the oil shale and tar sand resources would require massive energy inputs to become profitable, but for those who make petroleum based fuel are positioned perfectly to make money on both ends of the energy wasting scenario. Believing that these large corporations have our best interest in mind is farce. The recent economic downturn has spurred billions in spending on extraction of marginal deposits of oil for the sake of "jobs", but the truth of the matter is that we will be paying for generations for the wealth and greed of just a few at the top of the corporate ladder, with contaminated water, tainted air, and inhospitable landscapes. What we often forget is that solar panels are becoming available to everyone, despite the decades of "research" that big oil has done into them.
As with most things that are the right thing to do, the corporados only have an interest in them as long as they are getting paid. The most efficient machine for transporting human beings has been for over a century, the bicycle. Feet are actually number two. The health consequences on individuals alone from driving for part or all of the day are terrible enough, but the wafting fumes of our transportation industry assault us all. The time has come to re-think the electric car. Before you go all, "That means burning more coal." on me, understand that electric motors are capable of efficiencies of 85% to over 95%. The internal combustion engine blows through energy like a bandit, blowing massive quantities into heat and friction. The motor alone loses over half the energy that it takes in. Compare them directly to electric motors and you will find that IC (internal combustion) ranges from 25-30% efficient. Holding all forms of energy equal, that means that each and every watt of power, or BTU would take a car about three to four times as far if the vehicle ran on electricity than it can with gasoline. add to that the possibility of installing solar carports that could essentially fuel electric cars without burning a single once of coal and you have a realistic, and relatively cheap option. My brother purchased a Nissan Leaf, fully electric cat about a year ago and has traveled over 12,000 miles without using any gasoline. A comparison of costs seems almost farcical. My car gets fifty miles per gallon and is about five cents per mile to operate, his is between 1 and three cents per mile to drive. If he did time of use, charging his car only at night when rates drop, it would cost between 1.3 and 1.8 cents per mile to operate. I assure you, BP wants you to know none of this and they certainly have no interest in telling you that if you built a carport for your electric car to park under, you could charge it for free. The longer you operated the system, the lower your cost per mile would go.
The limited efforts that the fossil fuel industry, or for that matter, the nuclear energy industry make toward doing the right thing are nothing more than attempts to capture the largest portion of the corporate welfare available for transitioning to a more sustainable energy future. If we eliminate any sort of conscience about the matter, we are left with the naked fact that extracting fossilized fuel has been the most lucrative activity that human beings have every engaged in. Would anyone ever want to give that up? Serious flaws exist in the logic that says "Drill baby, drill." Every increase in production, and in the past few years we have seen many, carries increased costs as well. The more technically advanced our methods become, the more dangerous they are, the more opportunities for disaster there are and the more energy we expend to pull that last BTU of energy from the planet. It has been known for decades that the oil shale and tar sand resources would require massive energy inputs to become profitable, but for those who make petroleum based fuel are positioned perfectly to make money on both ends of the energy wasting scenario. Believing that these large corporations have our best interest in mind is farce. The recent economic downturn has spurred billions in spending on extraction of marginal deposits of oil for the sake of "jobs", but the truth of the matter is that we will be paying for generations for the wealth and greed of just a few at the top of the corporate ladder, with contaminated water, tainted air, and inhospitable landscapes. What we often forget is that solar panels are becoming available to everyone, despite the decades of "research" that big oil has done into them.
As with most things that are the right thing to do, the corporados only have an interest in them as long as they are getting paid. The most efficient machine for transporting human beings has been for over a century, the bicycle. Feet are actually number two. The health consequences on individuals alone from driving for part or all of the day are terrible enough, but the wafting fumes of our transportation industry assault us all. The time has come to re-think the electric car. Before you go all, "That means burning more coal." on me, understand that electric motors are capable of efficiencies of 85% to over 95%. The internal combustion engine blows through energy like a bandit, blowing massive quantities into heat and friction. The motor alone loses over half the energy that it takes in. Compare them directly to electric motors and you will find that IC (internal combustion) ranges from 25-30% efficient. Holding all forms of energy equal, that means that each and every watt of power, or BTU would take a car about three to four times as far if the vehicle ran on electricity than it can with gasoline. add to that the possibility of installing solar carports that could essentially fuel electric cars without burning a single once of coal and you have a realistic, and relatively cheap option. My brother purchased a Nissan Leaf, fully electric cat about a year ago and has traveled over 12,000 miles without using any gasoline. A comparison of costs seems almost farcical. My car gets fifty miles per gallon and is about five cents per mile to operate, his is between 1 and three cents per mile to drive. If he did time of use, charging his car only at night when rates drop, it would cost between 1.3 and 1.8 cents per mile to operate. I assure you, BP wants you to know none of this and they certainly have no interest in telling you that if you built a carport for your electric car to park under, you could charge it for free. The longer you operated the system, the lower your cost per mile would go.
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