I've Got Gas
So I found an interesting article on How Stuff Works that people might be interested in.
How come the United States is the world's second largest producer of oil and not part of OPEC, the entity that determines how much oil is produced? Is it because we don't actually export any of it? Or is it because of the 11 countries that comprise OPEC, (Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.) there are a handful in there that I'm sure aren't fond of the US sticking its nose into everything?
The Midwest gets hit pretty bad because we use Ethanol in our gas (made from corn no less) which can raise production costs when the corn crops don't do well. Those of you in California? You guys "pay a higher price for cleaner fuels -- this, plus a local sales-and-use tax of 7.25 percent, an 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal excise tax and an 18-cent-per-gallon state excise tax."
I particularly found it interesting that we have the largest oil reserve in the world called the Strategic Petroleum Reserve “first used during the Persian Gulf War in 1991 to keep oil plentiful and prices stable." (645 million barrels to be exact) However, since I've been in high school gas prices have steadily sky rocketed. Maybe the cost of refining gas is truly getting more expensive. Maybe we are running out of the "light and sweet" oil to mine. So what do we do to combat the situation? President Clinton authorized the Department of Energy to release up to 30 million barrels of oil to oil companies to ease the demand back in 2000. However, the oil companies were required to return it by fall 2001. This seems to be the equivalent of the FDIC for banks. If they are in dire financial trouble, they can ask the FDIC for a little help to get them through.
Sounds to me like repeating the process would be a good idea about now. So what other options do we have? I would think researching new energy sources and investing in smaller cars would be next. There are hybrids now getting SIXTY friggin’ miles to the gallon. Most cars on their best day would be lucky to get thirty-five. Think about that. You would only need to buy half the gas you usually do. They might be a little more expensive, but if the gas prices keep climbing it will offset the sticker price.
However, we are Americans. And we always search for the cheapest and fastest solution. I mean, who wants a small car when you could have something like this to drive? So, "in 2001, a bill (S. 389) was proposed in the U.S. Senate to open a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska for oil development." You know, the Wildlife Refuge. The place that is the home to endangered bowhead whales and lots and lots of migrating birds. This website gives a few more details.
Sounds like the perfect place to drill for oil to me. Let’s go destroy the Alaskan wilderness in the name of industry. Yee Haw. Or we could keep the oil drilling in Texas (with Bush).
Here's another little fun fact. "It's still uncertain just how much oil exists under the ground of the ANWR. A 1998 analysis conducted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that there are about 7 billion barrels of profitable oil in the 1002 Area alone." Great. So let’s do some math. (I promise to make this easy.)
The United States consumed an average of 20 million barrels of oil per day (bbl/d) in 2004, according to the Department of Energy.
7 billion/20 million = 350 days worth of oil. So Alaska would provide a year of oil. (That's assuming we used 100% to make motor gasoline. Ususally 45% percent of each barrel is used for motor gasoline. The rest is used for distillate fuel oil, jet fuel, residual fuel and other oils. Realistically this would be 6 months.)
Now factor in that Petroleum Reserve I spoke about. As of February 2004, it stored about 645 million barrels of oil in underground salt caverns along the Gulf of Mexico.
645 million/20 million = 32 days. So add another month. (Again, assuming 100% and that we got really desperate and didn't fly any planes.)
So max, we have a year and a month stocked away if we started drilling in Alaska. Who needs to research energy sources when we have that much oil available? Seriously, I’ll think I’ll buy a Hummer.
How come the United States is the world's second largest producer of oil and not part of OPEC, the entity that determines how much oil is produced? Is it because we don't actually export any of it? Or is it because of the 11 countries that comprise OPEC, (Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.) there are a handful in there that I'm sure aren't fond of the US sticking its nose into everything?
The Midwest gets hit pretty bad because we use Ethanol in our gas (made from corn no less) which can raise production costs when the corn crops don't do well. Those of you in California? You guys "pay a higher price for cleaner fuels -- this, plus a local sales-and-use tax of 7.25 percent, an 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal excise tax and an 18-cent-per-gallon state excise tax."
I particularly found it interesting that we have the largest oil reserve in the world called the Strategic Petroleum Reserve “first used during the Persian Gulf War in 1991 to keep oil plentiful and prices stable." (645 million barrels to be exact) However, since I've been in high school gas prices have steadily sky rocketed. Maybe the cost of refining gas is truly getting more expensive. Maybe we are running out of the "light and sweet" oil to mine. So what do we do to combat the situation? President Clinton authorized the Department of Energy to release up to 30 million barrels of oil to oil companies to ease the demand back in 2000. However, the oil companies were required to return it by fall 2001. This seems to be the equivalent of the FDIC for banks. If they are in dire financial trouble, they can ask the FDIC for a little help to get them through.
Sounds to me like repeating the process would be a good idea about now. So what other options do we have? I would think researching new energy sources and investing in smaller cars would be next. There are hybrids now getting SIXTY friggin’ miles to the gallon. Most cars on their best day would be lucky to get thirty-five. Think about that. You would only need to buy half the gas you usually do. They might be a little more expensive, but if the gas prices keep climbing it will offset the sticker price.
However, we are Americans. And we always search for the cheapest and fastest solution. I mean, who wants a small car when you could have something like this to drive? So, "in 2001, a bill (S. 389) was proposed in the U.S. Senate to open a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska for oil development." You know, the Wildlife Refuge. The place that is the home to endangered bowhead whales and lots and lots of migrating birds. This website gives a few more details.
The Arctic National Wildlife Range was established in 1960 to protect the “unique wildlife, wilderness and recreational values” of the area. In 1980, Congress passed the Alaska Lands Act, which renamed the area and more than doubled its size. Today, the ANWR encompasses nearly 20 million acres, which is about the size of South Carolina. The same act authorized the study of the oil and gas potential of the northern part of the Refuge, called the 1002 Area. This region is still being looked at as a possible oil-development site, but environmental groups say that any oil production would upset the natural ecosystem within the ANWR. The 1002 covers 8% of the wildlife refuge, but the 1002 report said it "is the most biologically productive part of the Arctic Refuge for wildlife and is the center of wildlife activity."
Sounds like the perfect place to drill for oil to me. Let’s go destroy the Alaskan wilderness in the name of industry. Yee Haw. Or we could keep the oil drilling in Texas (with Bush).
Here's another little fun fact. "It's still uncertain just how much oil exists under the ground of the ANWR. A 1998 analysis conducted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that there are about 7 billion barrels of profitable oil in the 1002 Area alone." Great. So let’s do some math. (I promise to make this easy.)
The United States consumed an average of 20 million barrels of oil per day (bbl/d) in 2004, according to the Department of Energy.
7 billion/20 million = 350 days worth of oil. So Alaska would provide a year of oil. (That's assuming we used 100% to make motor gasoline. Ususally 45% percent of each barrel is used for motor gasoline. The rest is used for distillate fuel oil, jet fuel, residual fuel and other oils. Realistically this would be 6 months.)
Now factor in that Petroleum Reserve I spoke about. As of February 2004, it stored about 645 million barrels of oil in underground salt caverns along the Gulf of Mexico.
645 million/20 million = 32 days. So add another month. (Again, assuming 100% and that we got really desperate and didn't fly any planes.)
So max, we have a year and a month stocked away if we started drilling in Alaska. Who needs to research energy sources when we have that much oil available? Seriously, I’ll think I’ll buy a Hummer.
Comments
Seriously, a little over a year of oil. WHO NEEDS ENDANGERED SPECIES? WE CAN HAVE A YEAR OF DRIVING!
You rock, dude.
I mean, what?
You're turning into a left-leaning tree hugger.
Muhahahahaha....my clever plan is working BEAUTIFULLY!
Natasha: No problem. That new post should help some more.
LB: Deal. Next on my plate is education and the declining students entering the fields of math, science, and engineering. Who's going to research new energy sources if we keep cutting the education budget?
Whenever I have to shell out 30+ bucks to fill my gas tank, I just think of those folks driving their damn Hummers (in which, by the way, you can go offroading anywhere in St. Louis that you'd like) & shelling out like 5 times what I pay. Serves them right!