Id say now is the time to start looking into this shit. apparently it is more plentiful than conventional oil and exists in north america in vast areas. all we need is the infastructure to collect and refine it i think. im no expert on this but if we begin using this we can say a big fuck you to the mid east

8/31/2005 11:22:18 PM

why not WHALE oil?

8/31/2005 11:25:51 PM

dont be an idiot. fossils fuels suck.

we have the technology to run cars on water. ok.

the model T got 20 mpg. ok, gas sucks. nobody wants to improve the system. the answer isnt more gas or better gas. the answer is: FUCK GAS

[Edited on August 31, 2005 at 11:28 PM. Reason : -]

8/31/2005 11:26:59 PM

Well, Tar-Sands are already being utilized. Let's work it out before moving on.

http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/102spring2002_Web_projects/M.Sexton/

9/1/2005 12:24:41 AM

Quote :

"dont be an idiot. fossils fuels suck. we have the technology to run cars on water. ok. the model T got 20 mpg. ok, gas sucks. nobody wants to improve the system. the answer isnt more gas or better gas. the answer is: FUCK GAS "

this man speaks the truth

9/1/2005 12:30:57 AM

what about that coal energy plan?

9/1/2005 12:40:46 AM

What about a car that runs on coral? Now theres a fuel worth using up.

9/1/2005 2:48:18 AM

i want a car that runs on liberals.

9/1/2005 8:19:59 AM

What other liquid for 3 bucks a gallon can power a motorized vehicle for 30 miles?

I think we're getting a deal... even with the high prices. Britain is paying 7 bucks a "litre."

9/1/2005 9:52:34 AM

As I understand the scale, if crude oil runs out, the next source in the price queue is tar-sands oil, on to shale oil, next is coal oil, then wood oil, and finally whale oil. So we have several steps to take before we start harvesting whales again thanks to the labor intensity of whaling.

9/1/2005 9:59:53 AM

ok, if we're god damn stupid enough to try and go back to whale oil... that would be the dumbest thing ever. I seriously doubt there are enough whales (even if we do drive them to extinction) to run our cars.

9/1/2005 11:07:27 AM

^^^ how about vegetable oil, jackass?

early combustion engines ran on peanut oil

9/1/2005 11:09:13 AM

I say let's use some of the government subsidized farmers to grow stuff to make ethanol. Hell ethanol can be made from damn near anything, and right now, I'm sure it could be made and sold for cheaper than gasoline if the infrastructure existed for it. Not to mention it burns cleaner than hydrocarbon fuels and has greater anti-knock properties than gasoline. Only problem is no one is interested in developing the infrastructure to distribute it aside from the farmers in the midwest, where ethanol is commonplace. I hope gas prices continue to rise and some of these alternatives become mainstream. The alternatives exist already. That and existing gasoline fuel systems in cars would need to be updated to be compatible with alcohol, but that might be 200 bucks worth of new seals/fuel lines.

The Ford model T could run on ethanol because Henry Ford said there were more stills that there were gas stations. Ethanol is nothing new.

[Edited on September 1, 2005 at 11:17 AM. Reason : ]

9/1/2005 11:16:32 AM

theres not enough farms

9/1/2005 12:29:01 PM

^^ Nice catch Snewf, it completely slipped my mind! My appologies, indeed.

Repaired list, in order of production cost, excluding scarcity overhead:
crude oil
chained natural gas oil
tar-sands oil
biomass oil
coal oil
shale oil
wood oil
whale oil

If I left anything else out, I'm sure I did, or if you think I got the order wrong, say why and what it should be.

9/1/2005 12:34:34 PM

Quote :

"Panicked oil traders are pushing oil prices over $70 per barrel. And now for the really scary part. A devastating hurricane strike at America's oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico is just one of the major forces that could send oil to $80 ... $100 ... $150 a barrel. Other forces that could send oil prices surging are potentially much more serious...and permanent! The Saudis are the "central bank of oil," right? So how come the central bank is scrounging for loose change under the couch cushions? Earlier this month came news that Saudi Arabia hired five Rowan jackup oil rigs for drilling offshore oil wells on a three year contract. Those rigs are currently under contract in the Gulf of Mexico, so that means Saudi Arabia outbid somebody to get those rigs – and rig rates have already run up to obscenely high levels – 30% to 50% more than a year ago. Drilling for oil underwater is very expensive. You'd expect the Saudis to be drilling out their cheapest oil first. Don't they have a desert full of this stuff? So why are they suddenly digging deep for underwater oil, and willing to pay a premium to do it? Unless... maybe the Saudis don't have as much oil as they say they do. We already know that the Saudis have confessed that OPEC won't be able to meet western oil demand in 10 to 15 years. I'm starting to think they might come up short a lot sooner than that. "

http://www.dailyreckoning.com/RudeAwake/Articles/RA083105.html

9/1/2005 3:30:12 PM

Of course, if you follow that logic, then what should we have thought back in the 1970s and 1980s when Saudi Arabia was investing heavily in Texas oil wells?

9/1/2005 4:25:42 PM

There are plenty of farms and biomass waste from which to make ethanol. My point being, why spend money on researching fuel cells, etc. when there are viable solutions to put money into now?

9/1/2005 9:03:28 PM

like 7% of the country would have to be farmed for enough biomass

9/1/2005 9:08:15 PM

but it's possible.

more and more people quit smoking every day.

use tobacco land for growing ethanol. government spends money on them anyway, buy the corn, make ethanol, sell it and profit.

9/1/2005 9:16:56 PM

Quote :

"i want a car that runs on liberals."

and I want it to be as ineffecient as possible then again, would that really be a problem if it were run on liberals?...

oh, and maybe, just maybe, saudi arabia is investing in Gulf of Mexico oil because the price is so fucking high right now, its actually suitable for them to drill in the gulf. Makes perfect sense to me:

1. global selling price of gas is more or less the same
2. I've got turrists and shit making my costs at home higher than the cost in the gulf...
3. go for the cheapest gas to procure
4. ...
5. profit!

plus, by grabbing oil from the gulf they can decrease the gulf "supply" while prolonging their own supply. If their oil is truly "cheaper" than gulf oil, then it would make sense to get rid of the gulf oil first while you can so that you can make an even bigger profit off of your own "cheaper" oil in the future when oil prices are even higher...

9/1/2005 9:17:03 PM

shale oil is prohibitively expensive to produce for everyday use, and would require basically destroying mountains to get to it.

9/1/2005 9:27:30 PM

Quote :

"Britain is paying 7 bucks a "litre.""

Uh.

No.

9/1/2005 11:04:54 PM

QUOTE:

"New Science magazine stated Wednesday that in the future, cars may be run on Hazelnuts. Thats encouraging considering that an 8oz can of hazelnuts costs about nine dollars. Yea, I have an idea for a car that runs on faberge eggs and bald eagle heads."
-Jimmy Fallon
SNL Weekend Update

9/1/2005 11:13:23 PM

They are paying an average of $6.19 per gallon in the UK (89.7p per liter, with appropriate math applied; if it's wrong math I appologize)

Src: http://www.whatprice.co.uk/car/retailer-petrol-prices.php

[Edited on September 1, 2005 at 11:18 PM. Reason : Moo]

9/1/2005 11:18:15 PM

Well, abonorio's guess was only a factor of 7.8 too high.

9/2/2005 2:26:27 AM

he learned creationist math when he grew up.

9/2/2005 3:25:53 AM

Actually, jlphipps's math was wrong too.

It comes out to 1.64 pounds per liter.

9/2/2005 12:38:10 PM