Alas, it appears those times may soon return as environmentalists, politicians, and the media push for man’s energy needs to be met once more by the limited capacity of field and fjord. But for one brief moment in man’s planet-killing history, oil was there to carry the burden that man would have otherwise hoisted upon the bowed back of nature. Just look at what oil did for the whales.
In the first age of renewable energy, man was so desperate for even small quantities of transportable hydrocarbon fuel (today so damned for its very abundance), that fleets of ships continually patrolled the oceans in search of ever fewer great whales.
Today it is unbelievable that the intelligent whale, universally regarded as a profound natural wonder, was once appreciated principally as a source of lard. But that very fact is testament to energy’s scarcity before the advent of crude oil. By today’s standards, even a large whale has only a negligible amount of oil – perhaps 200 barrels. The entire world production of whale oil was less than 500,000 barrels per year for most of the 19th century.
Yet for this scant annual prize – equal to about 9.6 minutes of production for today’s oil industry – the world’s whales were hunted so nearly to extinction that even today many remain rare. Many species doubtless would have become extinct had Col. Drake not struck oil in Pennsylvania in 1859. That year, U.S. crude oil production was 2,000 barrels. The next year, it was equal to the entire annual whale oil production of 500,000 barrels. By 1861, crude was pumping at 2,000,000 barrels a year and growing. Within a decade, most of America’s whaling fleet was out of business.
Together with coal, oil opened up an unimaginable quantity of energy that came from outside the contemporary natural productivity of the Earth. For the first time, societies could grow far beyond the biological energy limits of their landmass. Wealth skyrocketed. Food supplies were no longer diverted to energy needs. Populations blossomed, and yet man’s energy-motivated environmental depredations fell significantly.
Fossil fuels have provided freedom from the constraints of biology and agriculture to such an extent that most of us have forgotten exactly how energy-poor a world powered by biofuels can be. Consider that the United States consumes nearly 4.39x1016 BTUs of crude oil per year. In absolute energy value, the entire corn crop in the U.S. could provide just 10 percent of that, and the entire world’s corn crop, only 23 percent.
So if the U.S. can cut energy use by 77 percent, find a 100-percent efficient means of converting corn into fuel, and corner all of Earth’s annual corn crop, we can just get by without oil (assuming coal, nuclear, and gas are still OK). And of course, we’ll need to ignore that corn is plowed, planted, fertilized, harvested, and transported with petroleum energy. Factor that in, and I’m sure we could still squeak by at the equivalent of 20 percent of current petroleum capacity, if we also consumed the world’s entire rice crop. What we (and the Chinese) would eat under this scenario is a little unclear (perhaps we could eat the whales), and I suppose the Europeans would be reduced to living off wind power and pine nuts.
But the exercise demonstrates the burden fossil fuels have lifted from the environment, and how accustomed all six billion of us have become to eating. Even the paltry efforts toward already subsidized biofuels have had an impact. The U.S. demand for ethanol has helped drive the price of corn tortillas beyond the reach of some impoverished Mexicans, precipitating calls for price controls and export restrictions. Unfortunately, the competition between mouths and motors can only increase, and the demands placed on our living planet can only get worse as the second age of renewable energy dawns prematurely.ACORN engaged in a scheme to use taxpayer money to support a partisan political agenda, according to a new report from Republicans on a House oversight committee.
The report, released Thursday, accuses ACORN of fraudulent activities and widespread corruption and calls for a criminal investigation into the advocacy group. It offers the first detailed account of the allegations that have dogged the organization in recent months.
ACORN, or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform, has been under constant fire from conservatives since last year for its support of Barack Obama's presidential candidacy and its planned participation in next year's 2010 census.
The executive summary of the report says ACORN provided contributions of financial and personnel resources to indicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and candidate Obama, among others, in what the report calls a scheme to use taxpayer money to support a partisan political agenda, which would be a clear violation of numerous tax and election laws.
"U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, meanwhile, is reviewing the climate change legislation.
"He's working on the Senate bill so that it protects Ohio consumers, invests in manufacturing and ensures the competitiveness of U.S. industries," said Meghan Dubyak, spokeswoman for Brown."
Poor Zach, he has to rely on form letters sent to supporters to send to papers giving the impression that folks really support his disastrous vote on cap and trade. You'd think they'd at least change the wording around a little to feign originality.
Previous post here. My congressman, Zack Space, has been particularly hard hit by the criticism for voting yes on the American Clean Energy and Security Act and I think it’s unjust.
This bill is investing more than $100 billion dollars in clean coal technology, thanks in large part to Congressman Space.
The 18th district is a coal-producing district.If the majority of Americans believe we should use the resources we have, as many polls show, then using the coal reserves we have should please folks.
The jobs surrounding the coal industry will be secure and it only makes sense that more jobs will come our way to convert our coal burning plants to clean coal burning energy plants.
I say the congressman is doing what is in the best interest of the district and that’s what I expect my congressman to do.
We have to break our dependence on foreign oil and we have to listen to our scientist when they sound the alarm on the effects of green house gases.
With the US being the biggest producer of green house gases we must lead the way on clean energy and we must be able to produce that clean energy right here at home.
Paul Richards
Glouster
June 26, the U.S. House of Representatives (with the help of our Rep. Zack Space) passed what may be the single most destructive bill in the history of our country. It is labeled "cap and trade" and also is known by the name of the co-sponsors Waxman-Markey or as the American Clean Energy and Security Act. I will refer to it as ACES.
In the midst of a very deep recession, many believe ACES will bring the single largest tax increase in the history of the United States. Many also believe it is totally unnecessary.
Our president recently deliberately lied when he said ACES will "cost the average American about the price of a postage stamp per day." Watch and hear the video of him being honest before last year's election and saying, "Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket" at www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNSZ62xiD4M.
ACES also, once again, makes a liar of Obama, who said there would be absolutely no tax increase on any American who makes less than $250,000 per year (later $200,000). He, of course, also promised a "middle-class tax cut." ACES will be a tax increase on every single American. And, it is not just energy, it's everything it takes energy to produce.
This is a regressive tax that hurts the middle class and poor more than the wealthy! A provision in the ACES bill recognizes this and provides direct cash deposits into accounts of people who are within 150 percent of the federal poverty level to help offset the increasing cost of everything. Great, the middle class not only has much higher costs to pay, but the government will be taking even more of our money to support the poor!
Under another provision, when Americans want to sell their homes, energy Nazis will come in and do an "energy audit." Now your home will be subjected to a new energy rating assessment and energy labeling program that will penalize you for older windows, not enough insulation, not having super-efficient furnaces and air conditioning and owning dated appliances. So ACES would bring down the value of most homes!
OK, that's older homes, but what about new homes? All new homes in the United States will have to conform to California's extensive and very expensive building codes. Great, let's have a bankrupt state show us the way! Now we all can be bankrupt!
How did these and other horrible provisions get in ACES? Well, for one, no person who voted on the bill ever has read it. The original bill had some 1,300 pages and was not available to be read. Thursday night, before the Friday vote, 354 more pages of amendments were slipped in. Even co-sponsor Rep. Waxman admitted he had not read the bill, but said there were "good people writing it."
Why cap and trade? The two main reasons are to limit carbon dioxide emissions and to drastically raise our conventional energy prices enough to make currently non-competitive energy sources such as wind, sun and geothermal more attractive. This is completely unnecessary.
The theory of man-made global warming is a huge scam. More and more competent scientists are saying that. You don't believe me? Just Google "scientists against global warming" and start reading some of the hits you get.
ACES will force even more companies to move out of the United States and go overseas where the business climate is friendlier. You can be certain many countries will not raise their cost of doing business and sign on to this insanity.
We already are getting fed up with many of our politicians. If ACES passes, the American people eventually will wake up to the huge cost and remember who voted for and who voted against this legislation in the House. Rep. Space, I and many others will be actively campaigning against you. Please wake up and learn about this sort of thing. If you value the future of the country, contact your senators and demand they completely stop ACES before it is too late.
Jerry Phillips, CFP
Network Financial Services Inc.
Chillicothe
"My congressman, Zack Space, has been particularly hard hit by the criticism for voting "yes" on the American Clean Energy and Security Act, and I think it's unjust.
"Once again, Congressman Zack Space has stood up for us by voting for an energy bill that will help begin the process of securing our nation's energy independence.
Space voted for this legislation because it secures a future for Ohio's coal industry. By investing more than $100 billion in clean coal technology, Ohio will be a leader in energy production thanks to our coal industry."
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