a. 96% of the world's transportation energy currently supplied by oil.
b. $75= Cost of barrel of oil on July 18th, 2007.
c. $131= Cost of barrel of oil on July 18th, 2008.
d. 9.6 billion= Number of fewer miles Americans drove in May 2008 compared to May 2007.
e. 10.3 billion= Number of trips taken via the U.S. public transportation system in 2007, the highest in 50 years.
f. 44%= Percent increase in price of diesel fuel paid by public transit agencies.
g. 20% of America's public transit agencies that are cutting services due to budget constraints.
h. $6251= Amount the average two-worker household saves annually by taking public transportation instead of driving a car.
i. 2030= Year by which lifting the ban on offshore drilling may start to impact the price of gas.
Sources:
- Institute for the Analysis of Global Security
- USA Today, July 28, 2008
- American Public Transporation Association
- Public Transportation and Petroleum Savings Report [PDF]
1. According to the DOE, one of the nation's biggest oil & gas producing areas is what they call the Appalachian & Illinois Basins. (http://fossil.energy.gov/programs/oilgas/publications/Basin_Analyses/AIBasin_061906.pdf)
This includes 10 states (KY, PA, MD, NY, OH, VA,WV, TN,IL & IN). They estimate 4.8 BBbl of oil & 79-96 Tcf (Trillion cubic feet) of natural gas. American currently uses about almost 20 MBl of oil per day. Assuming it could all be extracted in one day (& their own estimates put it at 2030), that would be about a year's supply.
2. The DOE shows (http://www.spr.doe.gov/dir/dir.html) 283.5 MBls of sweet crude in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It's the world's largest emergency reserve & can only be released during a national emergency by the President. At our current national usage, this reserve is about 14 days of supply.
3. Go to http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/pdfs/41869.pdf for an exhaustive report on Wind Energy. Using 2006 prices, it looks like it costs about .01/kWh (I think the average electricity rate is .10/kWh. However, the report notes that wind energy prices have gone up due to the following: shortages of wind turbines & components due to high demand, a weak US dollar vs the Euro (many major components are imported from Europe) and a big rise in material costs (steel, copper & transport fuels).
4. Three types of Solar energies can be found at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/: Concentrating solar power, Photovoltaics, & solar heating. Solar energy currently accounts for less than 0.1 percent of the electricity generated in the US (go to http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/Solar-Power-Potential.aspx ). It could grow to 10% by 2025. Of course, electric companies need to take advantage of this technology. The creation of PV's has a toxic waste byproduct called silicon tetrachloride, though this waste can be recycled (see http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9889848-54.html). It's interesting that the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) has put a moratorium on solar projects (see http://www.enn.com/energy/article/37536) but not on fossil fuels.
5. For a report on Hydrogen Fuel Cells, go to http://www.doe.gov/energysources/hydrogen.htm. Taxpayers are already fronting a $1.2 billion commitment to hydrogen. Lots of stumbling blocks remain & full commercialization isn't planned until 2020 & mainly for the transportation sector. Even the DOE recommends, in the short run, purchasing a hybrid.
6. The DOE discusses nuclear energy at http://www.doe.gov/energysources/nuclear.htm. The big stumbling block continues to be safety--immediate on-site and long term regarding spent fuel rods. The government is currently trying to reduce "regulatory & institutional barriers" to building new nuclear plants for one reason--to not rely solely on natural gas. Go to http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html to learn about Three Mile Island and to http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/chernobyl/inf07.html for info on Chernobyl.
7. Alternatives include Geothermal, Hydropower, Bioenergy & Coal. More on these next time.
5. For a report on Hydrogen Fuel Cells, go to http://www.doe.gov/energysources/hydrogen.htm. Taxpayers are already fronting a $1.2 billion commitment to hydrogen. Lots of stumbling blocks remain & full commercialization isn't planned until 2020 & mainly for the transportation sector. Even the DOE recommends, in the short run, purchasing a hybrid.
6. The DOE discusses nuclear energy at http://www.doe.gov/energysources/nuclear.htm. The big stumbling block continues to be safety--immediate on-site and long term regarding spent fuel rods. The government is currently trying to reduce "regulatory & institutional barriers" to building new nuclear plants for one reason--to not rely solely on natural gas. Go to http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html to learn about Three Mile Island and to http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/chernobyl/inf07.html for info on Chernobyl.
7. Alternatives include Geothermal, Hydropower, Bioenergy & Coal. More on these next time.
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