Six Months into the Year and the Oil Crisis is Getting Worse

[politicallore]

http://www.reddit.com/info/6pg30/comments/

What do you guys think about this???

[whistle]

1. Well, dah!

[ladjf]

2. The oil monopoly must be broken.

Confiscation by military means is out of the question.

How else could it be done?

Renewable energy sources:

Today, wind turbines produce electricity on a cost par with coal fired plants. True, wind doesn't blow 24 by 7. But when it does blow there is good clean electricity available. Multiple wind farms over large areas of the Country that are interconnected on the same grid and offset the fact that wind velocity isn't always optimum at any one place.

Vestas,the largest manufacturer of giant, cost effective turbines is so far behind on delivery that there is a two year waiting period for delivery. Why they can't increase production I don't know. Perhaps they need investment capital.

Solar is now about 50 to 100% more costly per kw that coal plants. However, these costs are dropping on a regular basis. New thin film PV sheets and solar generators are improving. It is likely that solar will achieve cost parity within 5 to 10 years.

Geothermal home heating and cooling cost about twice as much as conventional heat pump systems but will pay for themselves in six to eight years in most regions.

Underground geothermal hot springs are another source that works now.

Tidal turbines run 24 by 7 and have not as yet been exploited.

Research is being done on placing turbines in the Gulf Stream. It is estimated that most of Florida's
electricity could be generated by taping that powerful source.

The Government is not going to do anything to promote renew-ables.Quite the opposite.Just recently the bureau of land management has placed 130 applications for solar projects on public lands on hold for at east 2 years while the carry out "extensive studies" the environmental effects of solar power generation. The same restrictions are already in place against several major wind farm projects,claiming that the turbines "might" interfere with radar for military plane operations.

If the current price rise in oil continues up to as high as $180 per barrel,the economies in the oil
importing Countries will simply collapse. The first industries to fail will be those who are the most dependent on oil, i.e. airlines, trucking, tourist and food. Those businesses will fail first followed by most others in a domino effect.

Meanwhile, the oil exporting countries will still have oil and CASH. They will be able to walk in to the bankrupt Countries, helping themselves to buying distressed, bankrupt businesses for 10 cents on a dollar or less. There will not be a shot fired.

Ladies and gentlemen of the DU, you present administration is one of the ring leaders of this attack
on the world. They are in the process of bleeding us dry and then basically taking over all of the
wrecked Countries.

This scenario could be diverted in one of two ways:

1. Obama could get elected in November along with much large majorities in the Senate and the House. Democrats could advice numerically in State Governments as well.
2. Obama could turn out to be a good and intelligent American. If so, our government could retake control of the energy policies. In which case the first major initiative would be to assist in every way to promote the development and use of renewable energy power. Once the alternates replace 15 to 20% of the oil demand, the oil monopoly would have been broken.
3. If Obama proves to be a good President, the most treasonous,anti-constitutional policies of the Bush administration will be reversed.
4. But,what if McCain is elected or Obama turns out to be less good that we had hoped for? What then?
That's when things would get very "dicey". The overthrow of the oil monopoly would have to be done
as an "end run" around crooked government. Large companies that are on the verge of being run out of business by the cost of oil would themselves have to fund the "renewable energy" revolution. That wouldn't be easy but would be possible. Possible is better than no chance at all.

The oil companies and the government would be doing everything they could to thwart the private efforts. Private companies world wide would have to form a coalition to fund the energy revolution
with no government help. The easy part would be the 200 to 300 billion to fund it. The hard part
would be going around governments, a move that the governments wouldn't favor.

[tomreedtoon]

3. Why no military confiscation? Of the oil companies, I mean?

We can't do much about the sources of raw oil. Or maybe, we shouldn't. But I would love to see the CEO's of the oil companies confronted one morning by a squad of soldiers in assault rifles, dragged off to jail, and forced to sign their assets over to a government agency. And I'm sure the soldiers would like it too, seeing how many of their brothers and sisters in uniform died to make these men rich.

[ladjf]

4. I'm sympathetic with your dream of how things could be handled.

And, I think that the nationalization of the oil companies would be helpful.

However,when I said that "confiscation by military action" I was referring to invasions such as the one in Iraq or one in Saudi Arabia or some other oil producing Country.


Overall, I believe that the better way would be to develop and use enough renewable energy sources so as to take pressure off of the demand for oil thereby causing the price to drop to a sustainable level.

Trouble is that the Government energy policy is being dictated by the oil companies and therefore will not support a big push to renewables.