Obummer's EPA is at it again.
#21
09-20-2012, 04:05 PM
#22
09-20-2012, 06:15 PM
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Jaster, I completely agree with the smell. Maple Syrup is a lot better to smell, hahaha
I also agree that, yes, oil does permeate our lives everywhere, but that's the problem. We put all our eggs in one basket; one non-renewable basket. When oil runs out, we're going to have a sizable problem. We already get into wars over it.
Moose, I believe that to be conjecture. People work their hardest when they are happy with what they're doing. And of course, even that is subject to change. There is no real baseline for how humans behave, we're an extremely adaptable species, as history shows.
I also agree that, yes, oil does permeate our lives everywhere, but that's the problem. We put all our eggs in one basket; one non-renewable basket. When oil runs out, we're going to have a sizable problem. We already get into wars over it.
Moose, I believe that to be conjecture. People work their hardest when they are happy with what they're doing. And of course, even that is subject to change. There is no real baseline for how humans behave, we're an extremely adaptable species, as history shows.
#23
09-20-2012, 06:33 PM
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hey i gotta defend oil here. fossil fuels for that matter. wind power doesn't contribute all that much to the grid. and sometimes the wind doesn't blow where the windmill farms are located. the sun doesn't always shine either. clouds roll in and such. the electrical stuff still depends much on oil/natural gas/coal. whether the recharge or even building the cars and components themselves. tires, plastic, paint, glass, vinyl, etc...the list goes on and on and it's derived from oil. oil permeates our lives and i'm glad for it! everything from medicines to cell phones to delivering/harvesting groceries to the computer we're typing on. to lower prices at the fuel pump, domestic drilling needs to be done,,,safely and environmentally friendly. YES, it can be done. LAWS of supply and demand are quite simple. OPEC's production wouldn't affect us if we're supplying a lot of our own and not taking much if any of their oil. flood the market with a lot of supply while demand stays the same, folks lower prices just to get rid of it and not keep it in tanks. at least that's the way i'm seeing it.
if you think about the work you get out of one gallon of fuel, whether gasoline or diesel, that's a lot of bang for the buck. you're either moving a small vehicle around doing work like mowing or even joy riding your quad. moving an 8,000 lb truck up and down hills, or tractor trailer rigs moving 80,000 lbs of supplies. trains moving items also. sure they may get 4 mpg or whatever, BUT, that's 4 miles of movement of something heavy. points to ponder.
sorry to be longwinded about it but i'm passionate about this subject.
if you think about the work you get out of one gallon of fuel, whether gasoline or diesel, that's a lot of bang for the buck. you're either moving a small vehicle around doing work like mowing or even joy riding your quad. moving an 8,000 lb truck up and down hills, or tractor trailer rigs moving 80,000 lbs of supplies. trains moving items also. sure they may get 4 mpg or whatever, BUT, that's 4 miles of movement of something heavy. points to ponder.
sorry to be longwinded about it but i'm passionate about this subject.
#24
09-20-2012, 06:35 PM
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That's exactly what I was planning to do when I bought my TDI! Make a little biodiesel reactor. I haven't gotten around to it because of funds, sourcing WVO, and also time... I still enjoy 46 MPG average.
I wish I had a really good explanation for that. There is so much wasted energy in vehicles.
I wish I had a really good explanation for that. There is so much wasted energy in vehicles.
#25
09-20-2012, 07:04 PM
x2
thermo dynamics is as interesting as quantum mechanics!
modern gasoline engines are more efficient than you think- obviously it's far from cold fusion efficiency, but automobiles do alright at converting potential energy into kinetic energy- like usable power to move a multiple thousand pound vehicle + passengers and cargo from point A to B, capture and recycle heat to warm you and provide enough torque to spin an alternator to produce electricity to feed lights, blowers and other comfort amenities, spin an AC compressor, power steering pump, water pump... all from the mist of a flammable liquid.
per btu / hp, gasoline engines are on top of the pyramid. it would require an enormous amount of wind / solar power and production resources to equal the btu's a gasoline engine can produce.
Personally, I think the real benefit to energy saving would come from within the home... bear with me here
every house in America has incandescent lighting, electric / gas stoves and other comforts... the energy that's required for a stove top to boil a pot of water is amazing- thousands of watts every time you boil water and only 15 - 20% of the energy / btu / heat being released from that burner is actually heating the water, the rest of it just goes around the pan and heats up the room. Same with incandescent / halogen lighting, 60 - 500 watt bulbs can be found in over 80% of homes in America... you have any idea how much energy is wasted lighting a house? If every house in America used L.E.D. lighting, you could close 2 out of every 10 power plants using coal or oil to create electricity (but not many are lining up to spend $45 on an LED light even if it’s good for 25 years)
Everyone thinks gasoline engines are evil polluting machines that use too much oil... but- one volcano releases as much chemical pollutants into the atmosphere as every automobile together has released in the last 10 years!
also- gasoline powered autos have allowed this country (and every other sophisticated country) to become more efficient and progress 10 fold over 3rd world countries.
read- “Guns, Germs & Steel” by Jared Diamond it touches base on this subject - very interesting read
Guns, Germs, and Steel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
#26
09-20-2012, 07:20 PM
just about have all the parts I need- just need the time 
something like this... but without the gokart. turn your volume up
and like this...
#28
09-21-2012, 10:06 AM
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I use CFL bulbs everywhere in my house, I like them a lot! 
And yes, there is a lot we can do in our homes to conserve energy.
As much energy as oil has, the sun provides us with just as much. It's only a matter of how efficiently we can collect and store it. Oil will run out, the Hubbert curve has proven very accurate for not only oil production, but also discoveries and reserves. I have faith in our engineers and scientists to bring us into the future.
That jet engine thing looks like fun!
And yes, there is a lot we can do in our homes to conserve energy.
As much energy as oil has, the sun provides us with just as much. It's only a matter of how efficiently we can collect and store it. Oil will run out, the Hubbert curve has proven very accurate for not only oil production, but also discoveries and reserves. I have faith in our engineers and scientists to bring us into the future.
That jet engine thing looks like fun!
#29
09-21-2012, 10:54 AM
I use CFL bulbs everywhere in my house, I like them a lot!
And yes, there is a lot we can do in our homes to conserve energy.
As much energy as oil has, the sun provides us with just as much. It's only a matter of how efficiently we can collect and store it. Oil will run out, the Hubbert curve has proven very accurate for not only oil production, but also discoveries and reserves. I have faith in our engineers and scientists to bring us into the future.
That jet engine thing looks like fun!
And yes, there is a lot we can do in our homes to conserve energy.
As much energy as oil has, the sun provides us with just as much. It's only a matter of how efficiently we can collect and store it. Oil will run out, the Hubbert curve has proven very accurate for not only oil production, but also discoveries and reserves. I have faith in our engineers and scientists to bring us into the future.
That jet engine thing looks like fun!
I work with these bio-engineers here at abbott laboratories- have a guy in our qc-micro group who's in the middle of his post doctoral degree in bioengineering. We're always talking about renewable energy solutions. You'd be surprised at the amount of resources that are involved in making an efficient solar cell. It's a very dirty business. He is writing a paper on microbiology and renewable energy. Pretty awesome stuff.
Personally, I believe we're about to turn the corner on some unremarkable breakthrougs in renewable energy, especially in solar cell technology. Typical silicon solar cells are not very efficient- but now research is focusing more on biologically driven solar cells that not only produce energy during sunlit hours, can also produce & release radiation when it's dark!
As we understand more about what's happening in the relm of the atom through quantum physics- which is laying the road for this renewable energy research- solar energy will only become more efficient and usable.
Some big energy advances coming down the pipeline over the next 5 - 10 years... invest your money in these startup companies now
#30
09-21-2012, 02:50 PM
All the talk of solar, wind turbines, etc. is great but not if it's unaffordable to the average consumer. I'd love to have as many of these devices but, solar in New England takes a loooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg time to pay back for itself, wind turbine where I live in a river valley would take longer, etc. I'm all for it. But, let's also use what we have today.
PS I wasn't to pleased with giving (Obama donor) several hundred (don't remember exact number) million dollars just to have them go belly up. Poof... our money is gone.
PS I wasn't to pleased with giving (Obama donor) several hundred (don't remember exact number) million dollars just to have them go belly up. Poof... our money is gone.