The Oil Drum

84 comments on November IEA global production

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george in vermont on December 24, 2005 - 10:20am

OK but I did say as a "demonstration."

If what you say is true, then we are heading down a dead end. Why are smart people throwing time and money away on hydrogen if batteries are the answer? Is it that they just don't know? Do you have a link to a source that proves what you say? I'd like to know because then I'll pass it along to the folks downtown who are building this project.

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Engineer-Poet on December 24, 2005 - 11:01am

Why are smart people throwing time and money away on hydrogen if batteries are the answer? Is it that they just don't know?

It's because hydrogen is relatively good for carrying energy from fossil fuels, and the fossil-fuel interests have made certain that the research money favors their products. The people who want to do development have to go where the money is.

Do you have a link to a source that proves what you say?

There are dozens (the calculations are simple), but you might want to start with Future Pundit's roundup before you take my word for it.

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george in vermont on December 24, 2005 - 1:36pm

Great web site you have there, thanks. Very thorough. Something else for me to spend hours poring over instead of working, which is what I should be doing.

I try to retain some sense of optimism about all of this, that either by building an abundance of new nuclear power plants we'll be able to have enough electricity AND stay warm; that Stirling engine solar farms will deliver the solar promise without the drawbacks of traditional PV; that hydrogen will replace kerosene to keep our air fleet flying; that electric cars will keep us all in motion... but when you think of the folly, the stupidity, the blindness, the corruption, the deceit and the wishful thinking that is going on everywhere, I can't help but think, We Are So Totally Screwed. Anyway, it's Christmas Eve, so Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you. I've got to get into my Jeep and go to the bank 15 miles from here to deposit a check so I can buy some plastic crap for the neighbors' children while looking at Christmas lights which I used to enjoy which I now know are using up coal that we're all going to need in the future and wondering all the while just how much my house is going to drop in value when fuel becomes so expensive that people abandon the countryside and flock to the cities to stay warm and earn a living under futuristic Dickensian conditions from which we'll never escape. Merry Christmas!