Hey Forum, I feel like sharing some thoughts, feelings, feedback and opinions (feel free to chip in with your thoughts as well) about the so called "energy crisis" as I truly feel that overcoming the challenges we face in terms of energy (sources, usage efficiency, ect) & economic issues is really our generations calling. I believe it's our responsibility to solve this problem completely (preferably well on our way within 20years) not pass it on yet again to another generation. The longer we procrastinate here on this issue the harder it will be to solve it and I can imagine all kinds of potential dangers & repercussions for not taking care of this issue now in our generation. First of all I have been leisurely researching this topic for a few years now. It started as a passing interest (eventually turning into something of an obsession). Since I'm an aspiring entrepreneur I was intrigued and inspired by the myriad of opportunities in the field of energy & transportation due to new more efficient technologies that have come out in the last 10 years, but I was also deeply concerned on a personal level too. I'll admit, I'm not an expert on the subject, but I consider myself to be informed. What is the "Energy Crisis"? What are some of the issues we face in the near future? What's the big deal? As a kid I never realized that oil (or fossil fuels in general) were non-renewable resources (meaning it will eventually run out). I mean I *knew* they were, I got good grades in science, but my teacher's (i moved a lot) never really emphasized that key point, and I had to come to realize the severity of the situation we are going to eventually be in on my own. The key point that they failed to emphasize is that "eventually" might be closer then we think, at least for the easily accessible crude oil that single handedly fueled the industrial age. The *easily accessible* sweet crude oil is really what made the comfortable lifestyles we take for granted possible. Granted coal did play an integral role in the start of the industrial age, but what really and truly transformed our way of life is without a doubt sweet *easily accessible* crude oil. Easily accessible, as in close to the surface, easy to get to and drill, just a gold mine waiting to be tapped. The easily accessible crude oil wells provided an energy source that offered up 10-20 times more energy then it took to extract (drill/pump) and distribute it (transport it to pumps). It also was extremely profitable too. Unfortunately the issue at hand is not that we are running out of it completely - not yet anyways, but if we continue on the path we are on we will be well over the peak within our lifetimes - it's really more about running out of easily accessible oil. There is still plenty of easily accessible oil left on foreign soil, but that doesn't really help out the situation that much. In fact many believe getting cheap access to that oil is a central motivation in our foreign policies, which is to say the war in middle east (which coincidentally is where all the easily accessible oil that's left in the world is located) is more about the oil then it is about liberation or ending tyranny as the media would like you to believe. That's a key realization right there, knowing that our country is actively exploiting third world countries for their resources... shameful, no wonder we are hated so much. Its because we are the tyrant, we are the terrorist and we are doing it for the oil!
The second key point that I want to make is that this whole issue isn't really a crisis of energy, in other words a solution-less problem. When you really get right down to it, this whole issue is more of a conflict of interest for powerful multi bazzilion dollar corporations - that monopolize the single most profitable industry in the entire world. All (or most) of their commercials send the message that they are serious about implementing alternatives, pssh as if I call BS on all of it. They don't want alternatives, because the alternatives are not even close to fossil fuels in terms of profitability. The truth is technology is there and has been available for some time, but from a business perspective your looking at extremely low margins (barely breaking even profit wise) and an infrastructure overhaul which is extremely costly. In fact if you look back, history paints a clear picture of what these corporations will do to get their way. Go back in time and you will notice a key piece of information. It is the difference between the oil railroad companies, and the relatively new (at that time) auto/oil industry. The old railroad companies had to build their own infrastructure, they had to pay, build, and maintain their own rail road tracks. The new auto/oil industry decided that the government (the people taxes) should pay for the construction and maintenance of their infrastructure (the roads). I'm sure this caused some animosity back in the day similar to our very recent bailouts of the failing auto industry in our time. I mean the automobile itself was obviously a superior form of transportation to begin with so its no surprise that they beat the rail road industry in the end. The third is that the auto/oil industry isn't just against alternatives, they have been preventing them from reaching the market on a mass scale for many years now. Sure some of the auto companies are pushing hybrids, but thats more of a marketing or stop gap measure, then a seriousness in supporting alternative technologies. As far as all electric vehicles they are just now starting to tease out and announce that they are bringing an all electric product to market. Its not because there has been some major breakthrough in the technology, in fact the technology has been widely available for many years not to mention the auto companies own/have many of the patents to the most advanced battery technology of our time that is capable of making electric vehicles a viable alternative. I really wouldn't be surprised to find out that the auto industry have a cozy relationship with the oil industry similar to how phone manufacturer have cozy relationships with the carriers, in fact im willing to bet that they didn't even need to be bailed out in the first place and reason they haven't went all in on all electric vehicles is because that would tarnish the relationship they have with the oil companies. thats all speculations of course....... The fourth point is infrastructure. How are electric vehicles going to compete with gas vehicles if there isn't even an infrastructure to support them? that is the key. seriously thats like selling arrows with no bow to shoot them. theres no question the infrastructure will leverage wireless power transmission possibly to a point where the vehicles can charge even when in motion. and thanks to our quick aforementioned history lesson we already can pretty much guarantee the auto industry isnt going to foot the bill or even mention it. how would they? they are supposedly almost bankrupt and needing bailouts which * shouldn't* have happened to begin with as there is absolutely nothing in the constitution that stats we the people have a responsibility to bailout corporations. the "too big to fail" line the media sold us on is flawed and BS btw, big companies fail all the time and they are in no way entitled to a bailouts from us. so what are we to do? well if our politicians had half a brain and werent motivated for personal gain, glory, and campaign funds from deep pocket corporations they would have declined the bail outs and instead used that money to invested it in infrastructure for all electric vehicles. we already know we are going to have to pay for it anyways so i guess the only course of action is to step up & push the initiative ourselves at least that way we can be proud of it and really support the alternatives going forward. instead of it being pushed onto us. the fifth long range transportation. its time we realized airplane travel and obtrusive security is inefficient and wasteful not to mention suspicious (corporate gestapo agent: "wheres your papers? why are you flying? where are you going? why?") and unconstitutional. mag lev technology is the future and has been around for many years. if implemented inside a large frictionless tube they can literally reach speeds 3-5 times faster then the worlds fastest jet without a drop of fossil fuel and possibly launch the next generation of shuttles into space. its pretty much a guarantee that we will eventually have to pay for the construction of that infrastructure as well, hell we are already paying taxes for transportation we should at least have a say in what kinds of technology we want to use we just need to organize and demand it. the sixth point is efficiency. this is absolutely crucial and will probably fall on us too. actually from a consumer perspective its a responsibility directly dropped on our shoulders as homeowners and renters. in fact if you are not well informed you probably feel entitled or somewhat responsible as the media paints a clear picture that it is our fault that we should be more responsible turn the lights off, use less running water ect ect. part of that is true common sense but the real issue is the vast majority of waste is not our fault it is in fact the inefficient designs of the electrical systems & sub par standards that the housing developments adhere to that we have to live with. first of all we need to push for higher standards i guarantee the housing development industry will not EVER go out of their way to build more efficient homes, they just want to build homes as fast and as cheap as possible. thats the core root of the problem. home automation and more efficient electrical systems, better insulation, more innovative heating/air-conditioning systems could easily drop the overall electrical usage percentage down a few notches without us as consumers even thinking about it. im not saying that we should be more responsible an conscious im just pointing out that the responsibility goes both ways.
of course if you dig even deeper you can pretty much prove that all of the above issues are a result of an outdated economic system that should no longer be relevant with todays technology simply because scarcity is no longer a natural factor so therefore the entire system is pointless and is in fact only perpetuating poverty debt, inflation, and the consolidation of wealth and property from the many into the hands of the few. there are plenty of resources, groundbreaking technology, and the most powerful communication platform humanity has ever had where everyone has a voice, and because of all of that there is absolutely no reason for currency to exist other then the aforementioned incentives (from a technical perspective). but thats another debate that skews into political science and philosophy where it really boils down to capitalism vs communist and everyone on both sides feels strongly that humanity is a child that needs all of these complex rules and regulations or there would be sheer anarchy and chaos still to this day most everyone believes that even when i try to emphasis how far we have come with amazing technologies and a world wide communication platform. i personally think we can manage and not only manage but continue to progress even further possibly at a much faster pace well into the future. because right now our progress as a civilization is being capped & managed by corporations specifically for profit... not for the good of the people not for the betterment of humanity or whats best for our sustainability or what would improve our daily lives, it all revolves around profit which is to say you will never see any consumer level technology (or have access to any resources) unless there is profit to be made... remember that! .
I think we should have used that bailout money to fund the space program. The way we're going we'll need a plan "B".
hahaha tru that im all for space exploration! but you wont see any serious exploration projects anymore like back in the day unless theres some profit behind it (space tourism perhaps?) beside if i remember correctly not to long ago there was a lot of nasa haters claiming its a waste of money and i dont see any politicians with the courage of changing that general consensus anytime soon. as far as technology i can see long tracks of powerful solar powered electromagnets placed intermittently between here and the moon/mars perhaps since there is no g-forces or friction for that matter you can really push the limits of EMP (electromagnetic propulsion) from one station to then next way far away just using rocket burst propulsion sparingly to line up and stay on course but without FTL speeds we arent going anywhere outside our solar system anytime soon and without artificial gravity dont plan on living a comfortable life on a space station
hahaha yea i kinda got carried away to summarize: A) we are running out of easily accessible oil, and will most likely hit a global peak within our lifetime (20-30years). B)Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. C) our foreign policies = oil imperialism D) it is highly unlikely that the auto industry will take AEV (all electric vehicles) seriously, anytime soon E) AEV need an infrastructure to be viable and therefore compete with gas vehicles more seriously F) that infrastructure will most likely be wireless power transmission G) the oil industy is really not interested or serious about alternatives H) the alternatives (from a business perspective) will only provide extremely low profit margins I) airport security is like a corporate gestapo! J) airplane transportation is highly inefficient K) Mag-Lev technology inside frictionless tubes is the future of long distance/intercontinental travel L) efficiency is crucial, need to push for higher standards and efficiency regulations as it is unlikely the housing development industry will go out of their way to build homes with efficient electrical & home automation systems M) last but not least; the monetary/fractional reserve system is an outdated, inefficient economical system that is inherently corrupt N) the monetary/fractional reserve system will only perpetuate debt, inflation, poverty, and the consolidation of wealth & property from the many to the few O) there is no more natural scarcity (although its definitely artificially imposed) and therefore no reason to use currency anymore in this day and age, other then what I can only assume is for the continued consolidation of wealth & property aka power/control P) our progress is being capped & managed by corporate interests for the sake of profit, not for the betterment of humanity, or what would improve our everyday lives, its profit! Q) the economy is nothing more then a pyramid scheme R) the bailouts shouldnt have happened! theres nothing in the constitution that states the people have to bail out failing companies S) the free market is a joke; when competition is nonexistent, only a handful of companies dominate over 80% of the market share for: the energy industry, the food industry, the media industry, the communication industry so on and so on T) some corporations earn more revenue then entire countries GDP U) from wiki: A study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research at United Nations University reports that the richest 1% of adults alone owned 40% of global assets in the year 2000, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. The bottom half of the world adult population owned 1% of global wealth.[11] Moreover, another study found that the richest 2% own more than half of global household assets.[12]
