Now I see…

So, in the last couple of days I have explored my fellow classmates’ blogs and commented on Joanna’s, Kelley’s and Caitlin’s recent posts or articles. I like this part more than anything- getting to read what issues other people care about is interesting and also very informative!

Is China helping or hurting?

New advances in green energy are becoming popular in China, however, alternative energy resources are still far more costly and less efficient than the ever-popular coal-fired plants.

Where to? If all the oil on land is gone, where do we drill next?

In Hammerfest, Norway, a town located on the coast of the waters of the Artic Circle, the first far-offshore plant and one of the most advanced natural gas plants is being developed – its completion signifies a new age of energy production. The first plant of its kind, this facility will send gas, by ship, to the American East Coast. Jad Mouawad reports, “before Christmas, furnaces in Brooklyn and stoves in Washington will be burning with [this] gas.” Companies turn to remote places such as the Artic Circle of Norway, vertical wells six miles deep in the Gulf of Mexico or horizontal ones in Russia to keep up with the growing demand for oil but with these new projects come more difficulties. These include. One such problem is the increasing cost of discovery and development of new projects for this oil. However, increased production costs mean higher costs for the consumer. It is not a question of whether there is oil; it is now a matter of moving to remote places to find it because consumption has increased so drastically. At our current rate America will need to import about a fifth of the natural gas in uses by 2030. Because of this demand, producers have turned to Norway – an inhospitable location located hundreds of miles from the nearest pipeline. This plant includes new technology to the field of oil production but has come with a ten billion dollar price tag. Ironically, the more we use this newly found oil, the more the effects of global warming make Norway a more hospitable place to drill for oil.

Update Links

I justed added a link to an energy related map…it works well, try it!

A map of Energy

The world has long been searching for energy. This quest has driven us around the globe in search of the most easily accessible fuel for the least amount of money. However, this drilling has wreaked havoc on the earth and supplies are limited. This is a map of the 98 countries that produce oil: some have already reached their peak and others still have yet to reach their maximum oil production.

October 11, 2007

I tried to link an image and it did not work correctly, IT WAS SO GOOD, TOO!

Background part I

The use on non-renewable energy sources has always been a concern for humanity. In the hunting/gathering time period, groups of people migrated to areas with an adundance of plants for harvesting and animals for hunting once the stock immediately around them had been depleated. As technology progress, humans began to use resources that required more intensive labor to collect, such as gold and coal. In the recent centuries, mankind has perfected the art of mining and refining oil to be used in our everyday lives. The process involves pumping crude oil, oil’s raw state-found in the ground, into a series of temperature and pressure controlled chambers. To make different kinds of oil, this raw product is extracted varying times so that we can have karosene, deisel, petroleum, etc to use on a daily basis. There is nothing wrong with the mining and refining of an element found on the earth for the benefit of society (and I do believe oil has been beneficial, even essential to the development of the modern world). The problem, as I see it, is the exploitation of this resource and our failure, as citizens of the twenty first century, to recognize the finiteness of this resource. Our current abundant use of oil will deplete the world of this wonderful resource. [I have focused on oil, but the same principle applies for all non-renewable energy resources]
A graph can show the increase in consumption of energy from 1980 to 2005. Because our use of these resources two problems arise. One, the question is whether or not these sources will last at our current rate of consumption; two, our use, whether consumption decreases or increases, has put a strain on the environment and has increased the effects of global warming. America is the of oil and alone uses approximately 25% of the world’s oil which is 20.73 million bbl/day.
Its consumption of electricity and coal similarly accounts for the majority of the world’s consumption. Yet, the estimation of the remaining fossil fuels (oil, coal, and gas) on the planet depends on a detailed understanding of the Earth crust and this understanding is still less than perfect. One third of the earth’s geological composition is unkown due to limitations of modern drilling technology. Even still, long before fossil fuels run out (if they actually are running out), the effect of continuing to use them at current rates would cause havoc to the climate through global warming.

Thought Patterns

I am not a drill sergeant, nor am I an aerobics instructor. I will not force you to do pushes ups for driving extra, needless miles; I will not cheer for you when you remember to turn off the lights when you leave a room. I will, however, present information that I think is useful, interesting, or shocking because being a true conservative (of energy, that is) is about more than making a few small changes. Like any major transformation, being energy savvy requires a change in ideology and a development of concern for our extravagant use of nonrenewable energy sources.
You know about energy that comes from wind, or water, or the sun, we learned about those in second grade; did you know energy can be derived from simple things, like static electricity from plastic combs. I am not promoting human hamsters (combing their hair for currents like rodents run in wheels for power). It’s just a thought. Energy comes in unusual forms, why are we addicted to gasoline?

Test Run

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