I caught a blurb on the news tonight about whether or not oil companies should be investing in more alternative energy. This is is the prevalent thought heard on the news lately. I have felt like the motivation behind such talk from the American public is one of punishment because of all the money they are making. I have to say to everyone out there ... be careful what you ask for. Isn't asking oil companies to invest in alternative energy (aka energy of the future) just going to shove even more money in their pockets in the future?
I am all about investing in alternative energy for the future, and I don't care who does it. Heck I don't care if oil companies get even more filthy rich if they do it, but then I don't care if they are filthy rich now. The media and some political candidates seem to think that getting filthy rich is wrong. If they want to punish the oil companies for making so much money, don't allow them to invest in alternative energy. You think companies like Exxon, BP, or Conoco Phillips think oil is going to last forever. They know its not. They are probably loving the fact that people are asking them to invest in something they were already thinking about anyway.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
A Quick Thought
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I just finished my LEED Professional Accreditation, I have much more to comment. We have so much to do for ourselves. Too tired for tonight. It is partly alternative energy, but much more off weaning ourselves off dependence on oil. Too many funoodles in the pool.
I think it will be interesting to see who the big players in the energy market become in the future. Sure, the big oil companies are trying to figure out how to keep themselves from becoming obsolete, but what alternative energy source do they invest in? Someone is going to pick wrong and get boxed out of the market.
One, I think there will be multiple sources of energy in the future - or maybe that's just my hope.
Two, having now been fairly educated on the process of finding oil and getting it out of the ground, I now know how incredibly complex and expensive the whole process is, and how many people have their fingers in the pie (roughly 200 different intities from ground to gas pump) - it's not just the oil companies whose business revolves around oil and gas.
Here's another thing that I've learned (or at least have good reason to believe) We have several viable technologies right now, however the general populace either doesn't know aobut them, or won't embrace them. I also believe that there is some squelching going on by the oil industry, or the government, or somebody. (Our entire economy revolves around oil - no government would be quick to pull the rug from beneath it's own economy - well, maybe the Green party would.)
Most of the new oil (a misnomer, I know) in North America is in Canada, particularly in the oil sands of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Oil people in the know have been buying rights up there for the past few years, particularly a name we should all know: T. Boone Pickens.
The fuel I think will come out on top (once somebody establishes ownership, because heaven forbid we have fuel fall from the sky, free for any who owns a barrel) is water. Well Hydrogen, really, kept as water in the tank until ready for use. Sure, the action movie staple of the exploding car will be a thing of the past, but I can live with that.
This will need to be a gradual transition, though (or an underground one), as free energy will terrify the rich. Not to fear though, we can't just start using all the fresh water we find. We're having water shortage problems as it is while we're burning ancient sea algae. Nope, we'll need to turn to the expensive process of ocean water desalination. That's my guess at least.
Of course, I'm not the pro here. I heard last week that the progressive oil barons are currrently buying water rights everywhere. Pickens is rumored to now own most of the Ogalala aquifer.
Me, I'm buying a rain barrel.
T. Boone Pickens has been pretty good about diversifying himself. Not only does he have the oil and water holdings as you mentioned, he's building what may be the largest wind farm in the world up in the Texas Panhandle, and will likely revolutionize how electricity is distributed once he captures all that "free" energy.
As far as exploding cars, don't forget hydrogen and the Hindenburg (although some speculate the explosion wasn't really caused by the hydrogen, but by the paint on the outer skin which was a derivative of thermite). Or all those exploding laptop batteries, for that matter. I figure it will take just one "clean" fuel disaster to make the public shy away from it for awhile.
Well, the difference is having say, a 15 gallon tank full of gas versus a 15 gallon tank full of water. The hydrogen isn't stored as hydrogen. You electrolocize the water to extract the hydrogen right before you combust it, so you're looking at far less amounts of combustible material.
The Hinderburg, be it paint or lift gas, had MASSIVE amounts of free combustible material. A car would have much less, contained within an engine block instead of a giant canvas bag.
Covered in flammable paint.
As for Panhandle wind farms, what better place to farm it? And I'm glad someone is going to control and make money from it. That's a good sign that it will be implemented. Heck, who knows - maybe polar bears won't go extinct.
Nahhhh...
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