Wind turbines sound practical, but we do not need more electric power as factories, offices, and commercial centers close. Electric power does not address the liquid fuels problem of moving tractors/combines and trucks. And much fossil energy is used to manufacture, transport, and maintain wind turbines. It is not just the energy used to mine, transport, and process bauxite ore, as well as the energy used to manufacture and transport the wind turbines. We must also count all of the energy used in transporting all of the workers who make the thousands of turbine parts all over the world, and all of the energy used in the factories, and the pay and dividends of all the workers and stock holders who will use oil when they spend wages and dividends on vacations, cars, boats, and housing construction etc. Thus wind turbines use up liquid fuels (which we need) to get electric power, which we don’t need and can’t use. There is no plan nor capital for an electric economy. Heavy electric trucks can travel 40 MPH for 100 miles on a level surface and then need a 5 hour recharge. With hills this would be cut back considerably. Electric tractors/combines are not practical, as they would go an hour before needing a recharge of 5 hours. Diesel tractors run 8, 12, or 24 hours per day without stopping. Even if there were a plan for an electric economy, the infrastructure makeover would take a trillion dollars and 10 years to implement. We need to plan for Peak Oil impacts. We know we are at Peak Oil now, according to most independent studies and what the International Energy Agency says between the lines in interviews. And we know that the alternatives are not going to make up for a significant portion of the liquid fuels gap (according to the U.S. General Accountability Office study: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07283.pdf ) This is where the NAS can help, by alerting the nation, Congress, and the president about Peak Oil and the problems ahead. This is a catastrophe that requires the policy advice of NAS for the nation. Politicians will not break the bad news to the public, but the NAS would. This is not the place for a cacophony of interest groups, bloggers, environmentalists, engineers, geologisst, academics, and energy companies to advise the president and Congress. The president and Congress will need the advice of NAS as this catastrophe unfolds. The NAS is the only source that has the necessary credibility to advise the nation on how to face this challenge: With increasing costs for gasoline and diesel, along with declining taxes and declining gasoline tax revenues, states and local governments will eventually have to cut staff and curtail highway maintenance. Eventually, gasoline stations will close, and state and local highway workers won’t be able to get to work. We are facing the collapse of the highways that depend on diesel and gasoline powered trucks for bridge maintenance, culvert cleaning to avoid road washouts, snow plowing, and roadbed and surface repair. When the highways fail, so will the power grid, as highways carry the parts, large transformers, steel for pylons, and high tension cables from great distances. With the highways out, there will be no food coming from far away, and without the power grid virtually nothing modern works, including home heating, pumping of gasoline and diesel, airports, communications, and automated building systems. http://survivingpeakoil.blogspot.com/ http://www.peakoilassociates.com/POAnalysis.html
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Wind turbines sound practical, but we do not need more electric power as factories, offices, and commercial centers close. Electric power does not address the liquid fuels problem of moving tractors/combines and trucks. And much fossil energy is used to manufacture, transport, and maintain wind turbines. It is not just the energy used to mine, transport, and process bauxite ore, as well as the energy used to manufacture and transport the wind turbines. We must also count all of the energy used in transporting all of the workers who make the thousands of turbine parts all over the world, and all of the energy used in the factories, and the pay and dividends of all the workers and stock holders who will use oil when they spend wages and dividends on vacations, cars, boats, and housing construction etc.
Thus wind turbines use up liquid fuels (which we need) to get electric power, which we don’t need and can’t use. There is no plan nor capital for an electric economy. Heavy electric trucks can travel 40 MPH for 100 miles on a level surface and then need a 5 hour recharge. With hills this would be cut back considerably. Electric tractors/combines are not practical, as they would go an hour before needing a recharge of 5 hours. Diesel tractors run 8, 12, or 24 hours per day without stopping. Even if there were a plan for an electric economy, the infrastructure makeover would take a trillion dollars and 10 years to implement.
We need to plan for Peak Oil impacts. We know we are at Peak Oil now, according to most independent studies and what the International Energy Agency says between the lines in interviews. And we know that the alternatives are not going to make up for a significant portion of the liquid fuels gap (according to the U.S. General Accountability Office study: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07283.pdf )
This is where the NAS can help, by alerting the nation, Congress, and the president about Peak Oil and the problems ahead. This is a catastrophe that requires the policy advice of NAS for the nation. Politicians will not break the bad news to the public, but the NAS would.
This is not the place for a cacophony of interest groups, bloggers, environmentalists, engineers, geologisst, academics, and energy companies to advise the president and Congress. The president and Congress will need the advice of NAS as this catastrophe unfolds. The NAS is the only source that has the necessary credibility to advise the nation on how to face this challenge:
With increasing costs for gasoline and diesel, along with declining taxes and declining gasoline tax revenues, states and local governments will eventually have to cut staff and curtail highway maintenance. Eventually, gasoline stations will close, and state and local highway workers won’t be able to get to work. We are facing the collapse of the highways that depend on diesel and gasoline powered trucks for bridge maintenance, culvert cleaning to avoid road washouts, snow plowing, and roadbed and surface repair.
When the highways fail, so will the power grid, as highways carry the parts, large transformers, steel for pylons, and high tension cables from great distances. With the highways out, there will be no food coming from far away, and without the power grid virtually nothing modern works, including home heating, pumping of gasoline and diesel, airports, communications, and automated building systems.
http://survivingpeakoil.blogspot.com/
http://www.peakoilassociates.com/POAnalysis.html
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