How do cows fit in between cars and oil? You are about to find out in this Did You Know about Energy and issues facing the USA. These are just the facts and issues. You decide your opinion on them.

If you have followed the issues much, there is plenty of talk and opinions on “Big Oil” and usage of fossil fuels such as coal and more. When most talk about their opinions about “Big Oil,” they focus on gasoline going into vehicles. What is missed though is the majority of the oil does NOT go into the gas tank. Depending on the state, 65-70% of the oil used in a state goes into non-automotive related products commonly used. Curious as to what your state does? Click on the link and find out.

What kinds of products use oil directly in their production? The answers are found here but cover things such as crayons, nylon, dentures, fertilizers, glue, toothbrushes, deodorants, shoes, telephones and a total of 128 common products. So are you really ready to join on the bandwagon and say Oil is bad?

When you hear of the talk of shifting to “greener” resources, they are ignoring a few key details. First, the technology is not ready yet to handle the loads needed. The issues involved are basic practical challenges. How about electric cars? Well, they are working on batteries and engines that can keep a significant enough charge to get you much of anywhere. The standard range is about 100 miles before you need a 10 minute recharge. In most of the USA, that doesn’t get you very far. These range upwards of $50,000 per car which is problematic in a bad economy when loans are tight and the average annual income is only $33,000.

That doesn’t cover the problem of the electrical utility bill you would get. Some are campaigning to seriously crimp the use of coal in the USA when they hold more than most nations. Coal makes up 49% of the electricity production as noted in this chart from the Energy Information Association. If you noticed, according to the chart the solar and wind account for a big whopping 0.3% contribution. To adjust the power plants to using different fuel sources would require extensive investments and a lot of time to transition. Turning off your lights a little bit more will do nothing to impact the electrical usage since the biggest culprits are the hot water heater, air conditioner, and the oven / stove (check the itemization of your electrical bill online). The costs of refitting nearly half of the power plants would be an expense factored into your utility bill. Just trying this at a time when loans are not available for such projects would be highly ill advised. (Common sense)

U.S. Electric Power Industry Net Generation, 2006

What about hydrogen fuel cell cars? They have been talked about quite a bit. California has a few of them. But the rest of the nation does not because of a Catch-22. Why would anyone purchase a hydrogen fuel cell car when there is no place to refill it? Why would any gas station fork out the expense of refitting when no one has a hydrogen fuel cell car in an area? They wouldn’t be approved for such a loan as you can’t make a business case for it especially in these tight times.

None of that factors in the low income, medium income families and the elderly who have a tendency to purchase used vehicles.

What it comes down to is gasoline still provides the best power supply for propulsion over all of the other choices currently available. You aren’t flying a jet on ethanol. An electric battery probably wouldn’t even get it into the air. You can’t refuel hydrogen in mid-air.

The Army is taking the initiative of turning biodegradable waste into oil. That means any plant matter can be used to make oil and converted into diesel fuel. If it works, it will reduce landfill usage, greenhouse gases and pollution.

Where did they come up with this idea? You may not believe this but the idea came to the person from a cow pasture. He was downwind of a cow when it farted (utoted hehe!). The smell triggered the idea of using smaller stomachs (bacteria) to digest the plants into a more usable form.

Interesting noh?

Anyway, Thanks for reading!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Anah

Photo from http://www.eia.doe.gov

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