Do you miss.....?
- Thread starter CrazyCawi
- Start date
I still find it strange that this 'shortage' has driven prices so high.. I don't like being raped by people. (no offense intended to anyone just a figure of speech)
Why can't we just use the alternative fuels out there? For how smart our society is I would think they would have implemented something in by now. After all, the diesel engine was originally powered by peanut oil.
Why can't we just use the alternative fuels out there? For how smart our society is I would think they would have implemented something in by now. After all, the diesel engine was originally powered by peanut oil.
I remember back in, I think it was 1997, when gas prices dropped all the way down to $.99/gal where I now live. I took a picture of it because I knew I'd never see them below a dollar a gallon again.
Parcho
New Member
Just imagine all of the technilogical advances that were bought by oil companies and destroyed. You know they have something up their sleeve. Release it slowly and in gradual technological spurts and max profits.
lwclancers
New Member
They were that low in 1999 too
Next time you're at the store, check the price of a gallon of peanut oil. Most of the reason why we're hooked on petrofuels is because historically they've been a very cheap source of energy. Alternatives are out there, but they're not free.
I've debated this at length elsewhere.
Oil is the best fuel we have for mass consumption.
Oil has an incredible energy density, AND is it extremely stable, AND it is very easy to transport (hello, gas in a can).
Hydrogen for instance has great energy density itself, but is extremely volatile and extremely difficult to transport or even contain. Creating cars that run on hydrigen is rather impractical. Fuel cells that run on hydrogen have a piss poor energy density.
A lot of people tout electrical cars. Good luck with that. Our best battery technology today as you know is Lithium-ion. There aren't any magic elements waiting to be discovered, so don't hold your breath for a new battery technology. IF the US could convince the entire world to sell us every last ounce of Lithium known to exist, we could manufacture enough batteries to replace every car in the US exactly twice. Two complete lifecycles of cars, and then you're out of Lithium. There isn't a lot of lithium in the world. Lead acid batteries would create an environmental nightmare AND weigh a shit ton more than Li batteries, and hence are not practical for cars due to the weight to power ratio. So IF we could convert our entire car industry to electric, we'd maybe ring about 30 years out of it and then we'd be screwed. And that's IF the rest of the world were to be so nice to give us all the Lithium and not use any themselves.
So when you start dismissing all the other potential fuels and technologies...you get back to oil. It works. It is still very cheap, and easy to use, and extremely safe to use in cars.
Why has the price shot up? Back in the 80s and earlier, you really only had Europe and the US and a few other nations heavily using cars. Welcome to the 2000s, where China and India and much of Asia have exploded, and billions of additional people are using cars, and transporting goods with trucks. Demand has simply skyrocketed.
As for the notion that the oil companies have been buying revolutionary technologies and hiding them, hogwash. If you created cold fusion in your garage tomorrow, the oil companies total net worth wouldn't be enough to buy your technology from you. Overnight you'd be the richest man in the world. It makes absolutely no sense that the oil companies could buy a technology that would put them out of business. The inventor would replace the oil companies and be worth BILLIONS. It makes for a nice conspiracy theory, but not reality.
There is no secret cabal keeping us from some amazing alternative. Cost and physics are. It is simply too cost prohibitive now to completely convert our entire transportation system to a non-fossil fuel alternative, and there is no feasible technology to convert to. Physics is what physics is, and oil just happens to strike a perfect balance between energy density, ease of use and safety. Wishing you could cram more energy into a cleaner, cheaper, easier substance does not make it possible.
Oil is the best fuel we have for mass consumption.
Oil has an incredible energy density, AND is it extremely stable, AND it is very easy to transport (hello, gas in a can).
Hydrogen for instance has great energy density itself, but is extremely volatile and extremely difficult to transport or even contain. Creating cars that run on hydrigen is rather impractical. Fuel cells that run on hydrogen have a piss poor energy density.
A lot of people tout electrical cars. Good luck with that. Our best battery technology today as you know is Lithium-ion. There aren't any magic elements waiting to be discovered, so don't hold your breath for a new battery technology. IF the US could convince the entire world to sell us every last ounce of Lithium known to exist, we could manufacture enough batteries to replace every car in the US exactly twice. Two complete lifecycles of cars, and then you're out of Lithium. There isn't a lot of lithium in the world. Lead acid batteries would create an environmental nightmare AND weigh a shit ton more than Li batteries, and hence are not practical for cars due to the weight to power ratio. So IF we could convert our entire car industry to electric, we'd maybe ring about 30 years out of it and then we'd be screwed. And that's IF the rest of the world were to be so nice to give us all the Lithium and not use any themselves.
So when you start dismissing all the other potential fuels and technologies...you get back to oil. It works. It is still very cheap, and easy to use, and extremely safe to use in cars.
Why has the price shot up? Back in the 80s and earlier, you really only had Europe and the US and a few other nations heavily using cars. Welcome to the 2000s, where China and India and much of Asia have exploded, and billions of additional people are using cars, and transporting goods with trucks. Demand has simply skyrocketed.
As for the notion that the oil companies have been buying revolutionary technologies and hiding them, hogwash. If you created cold fusion in your garage tomorrow, the oil companies total net worth wouldn't be enough to buy your technology from you. Overnight you'd be the richest man in the world. It makes absolutely no sense that the oil companies could buy a technology that would put them out of business. The inventor would replace the oil companies and be worth BILLIONS. It makes for a nice conspiracy theory, but not reality.
There is no secret cabal keeping us from some amazing alternative. Cost and physics are. It is simply too cost prohibitive now to completely convert our entire transportation system to a non-fossil fuel alternative, and there is no feasible technology to convert to. Physics is what physics is, and oil just happens to strike a perfect balance between energy density, ease of use and safety. Wishing you could cram more energy into a cleaner, cheaper, easier substance does not make it possible.
But a knotted up extension cord, and a bike that doesn't vibrate is bound to get the ladies.
Maybe thats how Zero got its name
Maybe thats how Zero got its name
oh man do i miss that kinda gas i remember when i got my first truck it was only like $1.69/gal