Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 17:02:11 -0400
Reply-To: Wil Haslup <whaslup@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Wil Haslup <whaslup@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Gas price war ~ way off topic (NVC)
In-Reply-To: <20060420151223.26205.qmail@web51110.mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Brian Tipsword wrote:
> Anyone ever read End of Oil or Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil ?
>
> I don't want to start anything, but I believe Dr Hubberts math is spot on.
I'm doubtful any predictive math represents actual available resources.
I'm more convinced that prices at the pump and in the home represent an
artificial state created by the oil industry. ...only considering that
Exxon profits increased enormously after Katrina and continue as prices
at the pump rise...it just doesn't make sense.
As an aside, 60 minutes did a piece a while ago on Brazil's efforts to
shift it's energy economy from foreign oil to domestically produced
ethanol from sugar.
They've been working on the problem since the 70's when we all should
have gotten the hint.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/29/eveningnews/main1454613.shtml
They'll be independent of foreign oil in the next year or two while the
U.S. still needs to develop the infrastructure and do more research.
It's being said in financial circles in the U.S. that if you're
producing ethanol you've got a license to print money. Even with the
quick increase of plants going online producing ethanol in the U.S. from
corn it will still only offset 6% or so of consumption by 2010.
--
to really throw a damper on things, did anyone watch this past week's
Nova on the newly discussed 'global dimming' which seems to be
offsetting global warming. The catch is that it sets us up for a
massive warming as particulate emissions fall in the developed countries
that use technology to reduce them. It also inhibits warming in
developing countries like India and China where they aren't cleaning up
particulate emissions.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sun/dimming.html
This disparity causes weather patterns to shift, droughts to occur, etc.
setting the stage for the wild swings many regions experience.
I expect worse to follow.
...as an alternative to our beloved VWs but in their spirit of economy
(in their day) I'm looking at this alternative transport
vehicle...called the scarpar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7dE3SMKgQs&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Evideosift%2Ecom%2F%3Fpage%3D2
--
Wil
"Information is the currency of democracy."
-- Thomas Jefferson
