Comments on: It’s Time For More Off-shore Oil Drilling or Change our Ways http://www.social-cache.com/2008/07/its-time-for-more-off-shore-oil-drilling-or-change-our-ways we deal in uncommon cents. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:20:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: John Henry Dale http://www.social-cache.com/2008/07/its-time-for-more-off-shore-oil-drilling-or-change-our-ways#comment-259 John Henry Dale Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:47:59 +0000 http://www.social-cache.com/?p=150#comment-259 "Oil is a very powerful resource with an incredibly high energy density. For example, the energy in just one barrel of oil is equivalent to eight people working full time for a year." - Bartlett, Hon. Roscoe G., A Representative in Congress from the State of Maryland From: UNDERSTANDING THE PEAK OIL THEORY HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND AIR QUALITY OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION DECEMBER 7, 2005 (http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_house_hearings&docid=f:25627.wais) Assuming a 40 hour work weeks and 2 weeks of vacation per year per man, this means that ONE BARREL of oil is equivalent to 16,000 man hours of "work" (in terms of joules of energy expended). We currently use between 83-84 million barrels worldwide PER DAY. Try to get your head around this figure and how, even at 20 dollars per gallon, gas will still be an incredibly cheap source of energy. For example, one gallon of gas would get your 5,000 pound F-Series Ford Trcuk about 15- 20 miles down the road - how much time and energy would it take YOU to push that truck the same distance ? just sayin.. We will likely use oil until it become non-profitably recoverable by the oil companies (i.e. the cost of extraction exceeds the profit made from selling it). Depending on which oil industry analyst you ask, this point is anywhere from 5 to 50 years away, to "never going to happen" ( aka the dubious abiotic oil theory). Meanwhile, Portland stands to lead the way with a bike/public transit model. It's the best city I've seen so far in that regard. Keep pedalling. Best JH “Oil is a very powerful resource with an incredibly high energy density. For example,
the energy in just one barrel of oil is equivalent to eight people working full time for a
year.”

- Bartlett, Hon. Roscoe G., A Representative in Congress from the State of Maryland

From:

UNDERSTANDING THE PEAK OIL
THEORY

HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND AIR QUALITY
OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
DECEMBER 7, 2005
(http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_house_hearings&docid=f:25627.wais)

Assuming a 40 hour work weeks and 2 weeks of vacation per year per man, this means that ONE BARREL of oil is equivalent to 16,000 man hours of “work” (in terms of joules of energy expended). We currently use between 83-84 million barrels worldwide PER DAY. Try to get your head around this figure and how, even at 20 dollars per gallon, gas will still be an incredibly cheap source of energy. For example, one gallon of gas would get your 5,000 pound F-Series Ford Trcuk about 15- 20 miles down the road - how much time and energy would it take YOU to push that truck the same distance ? just sayin..

We will likely use oil until it become non-profitably recoverable by the oil companies (i.e. the cost of extraction exceeds the profit made from selling it). Depending on which oil industry analyst you ask, this point is anywhere from 5 to 50 years away, to “never going to happen” ( aka the dubious abiotic oil theory). Meanwhile, Portland stands to lead the way with a bike/public transit model. It’s the best city I’ve seen so far in that regard. Keep pedalling.
Best
JH

]]> By: Jason Feinberg http://www.social-cache.com/2008/07/its-time-for-more-off-shore-oil-drilling-or-change-our-ways#comment-257 Jason Feinberg Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:19:14 +0000 http://www.social-cache.com/?p=150#comment-257 This is very interesting to me. I think about this same stuff quite a bit. How we (Americans, consumers, humans) really do want to have our cake and eat it too. How crystal clear it is that oil has been the poisoned blood of this country (and many others) for decades. The irony is that so many people espouse this idea lately, then jump into their enormous SUVs and barrel down the highway drinking their oil-derived plastic bottle of water they buy on a daily basis. I had a creative crime idea a few years back, would have loved to had a bunch of "I (heart-symbol) Oil" stickers made up and then gone around town putting them on the bumpers of Hummers. So many in Los Angeles, where $4.95 gas and 8 miles to the gallon isn't an issue to many wealthy people. Have you heard "Die For Oil, Sucker" by Jello Biafra? A great spoken word piece. What's frighteningly fascinating is that the original from 1991 focusing on the first Gulf War is almost word-for-word relevant to our current situation. Even the president's name needn't be changed. It's a great piece of work and he did an update recently that is even more frightening. This is very interesting to me. I think about this same stuff quite a bit. How we (Americans, consumers, humans) really do want to have our cake and eat it too. How crystal clear it is that oil has been the poisoned blood of this country (and many others) for decades. The irony is that so many people espouse this idea lately, then jump into their enormous SUVs and barrel down the highway drinking their oil-derived plastic bottle of water they buy on a daily basis.

I had a creative crime idea a few years back, would have loved to had a bunch of “I (heart-symbol) Oil” stickers made up and then gone around town putting them on the bumpers of Hummers. So many in Los Angeles, where $4.95 gas and 8 miles to the gallon isn’t an issue to many wealthy people.

Have you heard “Die For Oil, Sucker” by Jello Biafra? A great spoken word piece. What’s frighteningly fascinating is that the original from 1991 focusing on the first Gulf War is almost word-for-word relevant to our current situation. Even the president’s name needn’t be changed. It’s a great piece of work and he did an update recently that is even more frightening.

]]> By: Uncle B http://www.social-cache.com/2008/07/its-time-for-more-off-shore-oil-drilling-or-change-our-ways#comment-256 Uncle B Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:45:07 +0000 http://www.social-cache.com/?p=150#comment-256 We have to treat the American population as drug addicts, addicted to oil and all its trappings, in what they now feel is a birth-right, part of being 'American', the right to a personal V-8 engined gas guzzler with factory air and stereo. We gave these as prizes to high-school and college graduates, used them as incentives for executives, gave them away in contests, identified coming of sexual age with them, we forced them down the throats of our people by lacking public transportation, we idolized our cars in the movies, and there will always be pockets of Americans who will think this way long after GM and Ford bankrupt. For a full century, cars have been on a pedestal, a beacon for what was good about being American! Don't expect any large changes soon, no matter how expensive gas gets. We have to treat the American population as drug addicts, addicted to oil and all its trappings, in what they now feel is a birth-right, part of being ‘American’, the right to a personal V-8 engined gas guzzler with factory air and stereo. We gave these as prizes to high-school and college graduates, used them as incentives for executives, gave them away in contests, identified coming of sexual age with them, we forced them down the throats of our people by lacking public transportation, we idolized our cars in the movies, and there will always be pockets of Americans who will think this way long after GM and Ford bankrupt. For a full century, cars have been on a pedestal, a beacon for what was good about being American! Don’t expect any large changes soon, no matter how expensive gas gets.

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