The technology flow also runs the other direction. Coal-to-liquids technologies, developed in Nazi Germany and in apartheid-era South Africa, will likely be used in the U.S. on a significant scale. Solar energy may well be deployed on a large scale initially in countries lacking a serious grid infrastructure: technical improvements and manufacturing economies of scale will eventually make the technology more relevant to countries that *do* have grids in place.

Oil is going to be the lifeblood of the worlds energy needs for a long time so get used to it. The best solution is to start tapping our own known resouces which include the vast (bigger than KSA’s reserves)oil sand and shale deposits in the USA and Canada.

Oil is going to be the lifeblood of the worlds energy needs for a long time so get used to it. The best solution is to start tapping our own known resouces which include the vast (bigger than KSA’s reserves)oil sand and shale deposits in the USA and Canada.

Posted by: zefal [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2008 9:53 PM

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southwestern US location +
efficient solar cells +
output pumped back into the municipal grid
(possibly from the roof of your own home ..see CitizenRe.com business model) +
an adequate electric or hybrid car
is an attractive solution for a metropolis like PHX.

not every part of the US (or the globe)
gets as much sun daily.

You can see what your local plants are using here

http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/how-clean.html

Thank you for providing a calm and reasoned reponse. Very refreshing after the typical reaction I’ve been seeing from these “moderates”. I’ll try to look more deeply into this.

Actually, very little oil is used for electrical generation. The primary sources are coal, natural gas (almost all domestically supplied), nuclear, and hydropower.

It is also not correct that it is always more wasteful to first turn a fuel to electricity rather than use the fuel directly at the point of need. Stationary power plants are not subject to the size and weight restrictions of car engines; also, they are typically located near bodies of water which can be used for cooling, which helps efficiency.

You misunderstand me. I’m no right wing reactionary. I’m not a social conservative. I believe the most compassionate way to deal with my fellow man is to live and let live and I am a strong believer in individual liberty.

I’m absolutely pro technology, but I also know there’s plenty of money to be made with scams that appeal to “progressives” and their vanity. I’m not lumping you in with that group, however in your understandable zeal to wean America from it’s dependence on foreign oil I believe you are falling for a ruse.

As long as oil is the source of electrical energy it always more inefficient to convert it to electricity and then use it power a car that can burn the oil directly. It has nothing to do with the efficiency of the batteries. A more efficient battery is less wasteful, but the laws of physics dictates that the conversion of oil to electricity to mechanical power is less efficient than the direct conversion of oil to mechanical power.

There may be circumstances where the benefits of electric locomotion outweigh the drawbacks. We still use electric streetcars and buses. A city filled with electric cars would have cleaner air, though cars are much cleaner now than ever by far, but the pollution from the added electricity generated would move that pollution elsewhere.

Someone with more expertise can tell you if your additional electricity costs would be more or less than the equivalent spent on gasoline, so that may be a determining factor. But if the object is to burn less oil then it fails. That is, until we have a different source, such as nuclear power, to produce electricity.

As for whether or not the government should be involved in the research it is pretty obvious that the private sector does better in most, but not all, cases like this. I don’t know enough of the details to say about this particular instance, so I’m agnostic. Unlike reactionaries on the right or left I like to thoroughly study an issue before I form an opinion.

As to my anonymity I am a musician. I live in the Bay Area. The people I work with are almost all hard line leftists and my career would be absolutely jeopardized if my politics were known. You of all people should be able to understand this.