Friday, August 26, 2005

Have You Heard?

So have you heard? California started another round of roving blackouts... the blackouts began way back in 2002. **shrugs** I've talked about peak oil before and folks seem to think that the earth can keep up with the growing population on its face.... come what may. This WILL get worse. If you are NOT prepared, you will NOT survive.

Bush knows there's an energy crisis is on the horizon.


Some people would rather pretend that peak oil doesn't exist. You be the judge. Do you REALLY think those roving blackouts are because of a so called "transformer malfunction"? HARDLY! Peak oil is real.

On the flip side, there's always a flip-side, there are MANY other energy sources and many that are being researched... but the research is a little tardy. Peak oil began in the 1960's. The United States was the top producer of oil back then. We've sucked the oil wells dry here and continue to deplete the rest of the world of fossil fuels. Americans are the largest consumers of fossil fuels. We LOVE our S.U.V.'s. We LOVE our street lights. We LOVE convenience. We are energy WHORES. We sell our future for energy now. Read the analysis of who consumes the most energy by continent and country HERE.

Okay, okay, it sounds like I'm preaching that the "sky is falling". It could be falling if you're not prepared for this looming energy crisis. If you ARE absolutely ready... you have alternative energy sources in place. Hydro-electric. Solar power. Wind power. GeoThermal. Wave power. Read the Blog.

If alternative energy is NOT your thing... can you survive without fossil fuels? Fossil fuels account for 90% of world energy consumption. That means 90% of what you do requires fossil fuels. Don't think so?

  • It takes 7 gallons of crude oil to produce one tire
  • It takes 42 gallons of crude oil, but only one gallon of used oil, to produce 2 ½ quarts of new, high-quality lubricating oil.
  • Synthetic rubber accounts for about 60 percent of the total world-wide consumption of rubber and is derived from oil, whereas the remaining 40 percent is naturally derived from the rubber tree.
  • If fuel economy were improved by 5 m.p.g., American consumers would save 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, more than half of what the U.S. imports from the Middle East.
  • Worldwide, bicycles outnumber automobiles almost 2 to 1, but of all the trips taken in the U.S. just 2/3 of 1 percent are made by bicycle.
  • In 2000, cars guzzled 8.2 million barrels of oil per day, up from 6.9 in 1990. This rise in fuel use corresponded with a 47 percent increase in petroleum imports. The 8.2 million barrels per day of fuel consumed by U.S. automobiles nearly matches the amount of oil produced by Saudi Arabia.
  • An incandescent light bulb cost 75 cents or less at the store, but it will typically cost six to 10 times that for electricity over its relatively short (750-hour) life.
  • Materials use has grown 18-fold in the United States since 1900. Substances such as aluminum and plastic were virtually unknown at the turn of the century. Since that time, aluminum production has climbed more than 3,000-fold, and synthetic chemicals production has increased 1,000-fold since 1930 in the United States alone.

Recycling 35 percent of our trash conserves enough landfill space to serve the combined cities of Dallas and Detroit 92 times over, saves enough energy to fuel six million homes annually, generates $5.2 billion in raw materials each year, and reduces global warming emissions equivalent to taking 36 million cars off the road. Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, White House Task Force on Recycling, “Recycling for the Future,” June 1999. (City of Fairview Oregon)

These are just small examples of how much we consume. If the source of our food is the grocery store, the domino effect of peak oil on that is RIDICULOUS.

The systems that produce the world's food supply are heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Vast amounts of oil and gas are used as raw materials and energy in the manufacture of fertilisers and pesticides, and as cheap and readily available energy at all stages of food production: from planting, irrigation, feeding and harvesting, through to processing, distribution and packaging. In addition, fossil fuels are essential in the construction and the repair of equipment and infrastructure needed to facilitate this industry, including farm machinery, processing facilities, storage, ships, trucks and roads. The industrial food supply system is one of the biggest consumers of fossil fuels and one of the greatest producers of greenhouse gases. (Why Our Food Is So Dependant On Oil)
It really is crazy when you think about it. Declining fossil fuels will effect the population. Believe it or not! Peak oil is real and there is an ENERGY crisis.

1 comment:

Chele said...

Yup. But we'll just end up waiting till the last minute (when we absolutely have to) to utilize other sources.