Crude Remains Strong Despite Inventory Build

Crude closed at $68.86 (August 2007) Wednesday -- down 68 cents -- and the new futures contract starts Thursday.

Since I have been ranting today -- I remain firmly convinced that:

- Energy is not only a matter of economics, but a matter of National Security;
- Subsidies for Oil and Ethanol need to be replaced with subsidies for Solar;
- CAFE standards need to be raised;
- Expedited processing for Nuclear Power plant permits should be issued

I own a V8 (automatic), a straight 6 (6 speed), and a 4 cylinder (5 speed) -- so I am the last person to preach we all need to shift to Vespas and biofuels. But it's pretty apparent to even a gas hog like  me that we need to do something other than send billions of dollars to terrorist nations each and every single month.

Source: Pat Oliphant via Yahoo!   

Comments

[UncleFred:]

Barry is right on target!! The ROEI (return on energy input) for ethanol is only about 1.12 - 1.16. We barely get more energy out of the ethanol than we put in making it.

Imagine instead a U.S. where every rooftop is covered with solar panels, and the job of the electric utility companies is to regulate the flow, and furnish "peak" power. Imagine all autos being electric hybrids, that in usual around town use would run on electricity, and only burn fuel for long trips. Converting the energy of the sun to do all this work (running our household appliances, moving our cars) would have major effects at cooling the planet, since the heat energy of the sun would be converted to kinetic energy.

So, as I said, Barry is right on target with the direction we should be going: solar.

Too bad our political "leaders" are, as usual, out in left field.

2007 Jun 21 10:23 AM

[huangjin:]

What happens in 10 years when the sunspot cycle declines? Will that affect power levels?
In any event, I think CAFE and subsidies are both unneccesary, since a gas and/or oil tax will spur consumers in the right direction, and it can be made to be revenue neutral by cutting income taxes.

2007 Jun 21 11:46 AM

[jjason:]

We do need our government officials at the Federal, State and Local levels to subsidize solar. It has been done in New Jersey and more of us need to lobby just as the coal, oil and health care industry do. I have already done this in PA. Also, I have two solar heating bags out on my roof. Each bag holds 8 gallons of water. The portable shower is connected by a hose to my outdoor water faucet. When I install the mixer valve, I will get luke warm water. ( I am on city water so the cold water hookup is pressurized and I must correct this problem with the mixer valve and a non-return valve ). My housemate and I did all the work ourselves. No permit necessary, no plumber necessary, no real estate taxes to pay. All the items are personal property and easily disassembled and stored for the winter. Since mid May, I have turned off my oil burner (my winter hot water maker) and I will leave the furnace off until late September. It works for us and will save us money on oil. We also use the hot water bottle on camping trips. Check Campmore, Cabellos or maybe even Walmart for the stuff. We also walk to the supermarket, bank, post office and swimming pool and grow tomatoes, cukes, lettuce, green and yellow beans, onions, sage, dill, basil, garlic and lots of flowers in our 20 foot by 30 foot garden. Trying any of these ideas ( or all of them ) will help. Oh, I forgot to tell you that I am also building a solar collector that will heat our bedroom. Plans for it can be found on the Mother Earth News website. The plans were first published (I think) in 1976.

2007 Jun 24 02:12 PM