Stories tagged with "gross energy"
The Net Hubbert Curve: What Does It Mean?
Posted by David Murphy on June 22, 2009 - 10:30am in The Oil Drum: Net Energy
Topic: Supply/Production
Tags: cutler cleveland, david murphy, eroi, gross energy, m. king hubbert, net energy, net hubbert, original, peak oil, positive feedback [list all tags]
Cutler Cleveland of Boston University has reported that the EROI of oil and gas extraction in the U.S. has decreased from 100:1 in the 1930’s to 30:1 in the 1970’s to roughly 11:1 as of 2000 (Figure 1). But beyond the fact that society receives currently around 11 barrels of oil for every 1 barrel that it spends getting that oil, What does this mean?

Figure 1. Plot of three estimations of EROI for U.S. oil and gas.
Some Thoughts on the Obama Energy Agenda from the Perspective of Net Energy
Posted by David Murphy on February 9, 2009 - 10:16am in The Oil Drum: Net Energy
Topic: Policy/Politics
Tags: barack obama, electricity, eroi guy, ethanol, gross energy, net energy, oil sands, original, solar power, wind [list all tags]
The Obama-Biden comprehensive a New Energy for America Plan is designed to:
- Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.
- Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
- Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.
- Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
- Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050
The Obama energy agenda focuses on - and these are not mutually exclusive - efficiency, electrification, and the promotion of alternative energy resources. Its five main goals are set up in a way so that success in any one of the five individual areas will reinforce the other 4, helping the overall agenda achieve success. For example, creating 25% of the U.S. electricity production from renewable resources (goal #4) will aid in decreasing the U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 80% (goal #5).
The energy agenda is a welcomed change showing a future outlook that is based, at least to some [small] extent, on the physical realities of the natural resource world. However, from the perspective of net energy, some potential problems do exist. My goal here is to discuss some possible shortcomings of the new administrations energy agenda from the perspective of net energy.


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