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92 comments on First Principle: End Fossil Fuel Subsidies

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vtpeaknik on November 25, 2006 - 9:57pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
I agree with your sentiments there, but I don't think that domestic oil extraction in the USA can be increased much, even with ANWR and offshore and even with the good work of people like you.  The only way to cut significantly into the imports is conservation.  I also don't expect that "alternatives" will ever lower the price of oil.  Oil is just too damn convenient.  The best we can hope for from the alternatives is to cushion the withdrawal symptoms a bit.
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Engineer-Poet on November 26, 2006 - 2:20am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
I also don't expect that "alternatives" will ever lower the price of oil.  Oil is just too damn convenient.
I think it depends which alternatives you're talking about.  Wind power at 5¢/kWh into EV batteries would be the equivalent of gasoline at 50¢/gallon.  Bio-charcoal at the $85/ton social cost of carbon, into direct-carbon fuel cells at 80% efficiency, would have about 1.3¢/kWh fuel cost.
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serac on November 26, 2006 - 9:50am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
What people fail to realize is that, while ANWAR won't make the USA "energy independent" it will do the following things:
  1. Provide for a stable tax base for the state of Alaska
  2. Reduct our negitive ballance of payments by as much as $60,000,000.00 per DAY
  3. Provide an employment base for Alaska oil field workers for at least 50 years
  4. Provide the resource to keep the west coast refineries working
  5. Insure that the Alaska pipeline is not shut down when north slope (Prudo Bay et al) declines to the 400,000 BOPD rate necessary to operate the pipeline
  6. Provide the incentive to build the North Slope gas pipeline to maximize the gas potential of the North Slope

I am sure sure that there are additional reasons for more North Slope oil and gas development but these are the first that come to mind.
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Aniya on November 29, 2006 - 12:08am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Hi Serac,

 A late comment, to your specific list, which I appreciate. My sincere questions:  1) How long do these positive outcomes last?  2) What happens when ANWAR begins to decline?  3) What to do with this gain - (?)... that is, how to insure the presumed energy gain (total) will be used for off-setting the effects of global peak?

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92 comments on First Principle: End Fossil Fuel Subsidies

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