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Originally Posted by Captain Awesome
First of all, the "scarcity" that some predict is about as hotly contests and falsely "settled" as AGW. About the only thing we know is that there is a finite amount of volume in the earth, so there is a fixed supply and it would eventually run out.
What we don't know is exactly how much oil exists and that new depostis are being discovered all the time and new ways to get at previously undiscovered deposts are being discovered all the time.
We also know that certain people are working very hard to prevent the discovery and access of new deposits. These people are mind-bogglingly connected with industries that wish to replace fossil fuels.
We also know that fossil fuels will diminish in supply and access to them will diminish as well but this will happen OVER TIME. Contrary to the "chicken little" scare tactics, we will not wake up one day and find that all the oil is gone. Oil will deplete over decades of time, and the price will naturally also slowly increase as the supply diminishes.
The way this works in the free market is quite simple:
1) Oil prices slowly rise as supply naturally diminishes.
2) Alternative energy prices slowly climb as more research is conducted by people who see a market for something cheaper than oil.
3) One day the price of oil is more than the price of whatever else is invented and people are smart enough to switch over of their own free will to the new energy.
The way this does not work in the current market is quite complex:
1) Oil prices are low but are artificually inflated due to regulation, litigation, and interference.
2) Alternative energy prices are high but are artificually lowered due to subsidies and graft.
3) These price shifts are not gradual and happen rapidly, leaving most people unable to adjust. Most people cannot simply replace their car at the drop of a hat, so they are forced to pay the high gas prices.
4) People paying artificially inflated prices for gas have no money to save and no money to spend on anything else so:
a. They can never afford a new car that uses alternative fuel.
b. They have no disposeable income so they spend less on everything else and the economy collapses.
c. The collapsed economy puts millions of others in a position of not being able to afford a new energy powered car.
This whole scenario is insane and we need to STOP meddling in the free market and let things happen naturally instead of forcing them to happen in ways that nobody can understand.
By the way, we have finite amounts of minerals on the Earth as well as oil. Some of them are depleting a lot faster than oil is. Where's all the PaNiC over that? Why aren't we hearing anything about everything else that will eventually be used up?
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Ohhhhh would that be Lithium?
Yes the price of oil is partly demand, partly political and a lot of profit. But the Chinese automobile market is predicted to go to 30 million units in just about 10 years. That will likely impact the demand portion of that and political resulting in an even greater chance to profit.
I've said it before, we have a LOT of shale in the rocky mountains and tons of natural gas. Being self sufficient is only a decision and will. But the "Jed Clampet Oil" or cheap oil you can get by simply shooting at some food
pretty much keeps us at that trough.
Quote:
Originally Posted by el ess X
The government DOESN'T have a self-proclaimed duty per se, if the people don't want that. If they want to make alternative energy technology grants/loans available for private firms to develop them, like student loans, then let the private industries put their skin on the line instead of our wallets.
I think it's more of HOW government is intervening rather than whether they should or not. Picking who wins and who loses is a game this government can't play well and that's been proven for decades. IMO, they're lucky to pour piss out of a boot with the directions on the heel.
Look around the globe. Government subsidizing car sales does not work in the long term. Government subsidizing anything doesn't work in the long term. It's been proven. Yet the dummies still keep going back to that trough...our pockets, and we keep letting them.
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But the government is the magic short term fix everthing answer..............isn't it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sterling
I think that instead of setting up charging stations that can charge your car quickly, they should set up stations similar to the "Blue Rhino" propane cages with already charged batteries and make them easy to swap out.
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That has been proposed. Also renting or leasing the batteries to enable exactly what you suggest. The problem is imagine the difficulty in storing enough 500 pound batteries that only result in at best 100 miles. Today that's simply 4 gallons of gasoline or diesel. And now you need someone to remove and install that 500 pound battery. Doable but needs some more thinking and technology.
By the way, there really is no such thing as a "quick charge" battery station. Electricity is similar to gasoline. If you tried to fill your gas tank with 10 gallons of gas in 10 seconds what kind of pressure and flow would be required?
To fill the battery quicker requires the electrons to flow faster. What happens when you do that? HEAT
So yes, you can quick charge the batter for your power tools. I'm told it's quite a different matter when you try to get a 16 kW hour battery charged up.
Want your kid arc welding around the car at the recharging station? It's about the same thing.