$5 a gallon gas coming by the end of the year, where will you be?

[mjs020294]

I guess you will have to wait until hybrid mowers hit the market.

[RedAlert]

I guess you will have to wait until hybrid mowers hit the market.

Not out of the realm of possibility...

[mjs020294]

I guess you will have to wait until hybrid mowers hit the market.

Not out of the realm of possibility...

The future has arrived:

[RedAlert]

I guess you will have to wait until hybrid mowers hit the market.

Not out of the realm of possibility...

The future has arrived:

Where do I attach the goat?

[cyberdude557]

http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/04/13/2008-04-13T114657Z_01_L1396877_RTRIDST_0_SAUDI-OIL.html

Considering we are beyond the peak and most of the oil found in the world I believe is from Mesozoic rock I think it will rise above $4 dollars and alternative fuels will have to be heavily considered.

We are not running out of oil! It is just that demand has exceeded our capacity to drill it and refine it.

There is plenty of sources of oil. We have large wells of oil all over the Gulf of Mexico. Our Florida government refuses to allow any drilling. Sen. Mel Martinez made a big deal about it in the Senate when they started talking about doing it.

We could even go and do the "Nazi fuel." The Nazis were cut off from oil during a period of world war II. So they invented a process where they can turn coal into oil. Here in America we are LOADED with coal. We got coal everywhere. There is also 1.6 trillion barrels of oil up in the Canadian oil sands...enough to fuel the US and Canada for over a century. Problem? Environmentalists in both countries are blocking it.

[oregonbucfan]

We should be drilling oil off our coast instead of letting China do it. But how mental people have become with this green movement it will never happen.

[gatorgirl!]

It seems like the new trend is to call for alternative fuel so that the price for gas goes down....but how are any of the automobiles on the road today going to be able to use alternative fuels?

We have cars now that use less gas, but they're so expensive and the economy is so bad, that 9 out of 10 families are not going to go out and purchase a new car, they're just going to keep driving their old ones.

I don't know the realities of it, but I can't imagine that converting old cars to be compatible with alternative fuels is a cheap method either.

I remember in the 1960's hearing about gas rationing, and people could only get gas on certain days or something. Maybe that's something we need to go back to. Or maybe the government should step up and put a price ceiling on the price of gas. They have laws in place that keep gas prices from sky-rocketing during hurricane threats; it could be done.

[mjs020294]

We really need to be moving to alternative fuels and conserving more.  They estimate that if every American could reduce gas consumption by 10% it would take $1 off a gallon.

Any new homes built in the southern states should be self sufficient in water heating and all domestic electricity apart from air-con.  

[cyberdude557]

What alternative fuel?

Like I said, biodiesel is going to be a joke. You will simply start paying more and more money for food. And if every American household has 2 or even 3 or 4 cars....do you think the middle class is able to afford to junk those cars and buy hybrids that cost more than $25k each?

Sure you can carpool or do public transportation but that's probably not going to work. We dont have the infrastructure. The average person outside major cities live more than 15 miles to their place of employment. It's nice if your co-worker lives next door to you. But your options are few if no one you work with lives arouind you.

[mjs020294]

What alternative fuel?

Ever noticed that big yellow/red circle in the sky during the day?  Its hot and with the right collection method you can get energy from it.

Stick a cheap plastic pool panel on the roof and circulate the contents through a copper coil in your hot water tank,  and bingo unlimited FREE hot water.  Stick some solar panels up there and add a bank of batteries, and bingo enough electricity to run most household appliances.

Just do those two things on all new homes in the south and the demand for electric will start to fall, and with it gas, coal and oil.  If the demand for those raw materials drop the cost of producing electricity goes with it........BINGO, electrically powered cars become more cost effective.

If adding those panels cost around $10k for a house the size of mine, and the government want to give me a $2k grant and let me write the rest of the cost against my tax, then I will add it to my older home.  Within two and half years I would have paid for the installation out of the cost savings, and then I am electric bill free for about 20-25 years.

BTW - while we are building new homes how about actually making them energy efficient.

Baby steps.   

[cyberdude557]

Sure and spend how much money installing it?

Again, middle class families dont have 25k lying around to install and give maint. to such a system.

[mjs020294]

Sure and spend how much money installing it?

Again, middle class families dont have 25k lying around to install and give maint. to such a system.

It may cost close to $25k now because the stuff isn't mass produced but with the right government incentives and guidance, the cost would soon be well under $10k.  My electric bill is between $3500-$4000k a year, do the math.

BTW - the panel for unlimited hot water would cost about $300-$500 to add to a new home.

[spartan]

Sure and spend how much money installing it?

Again, middle class families dont have 25k lying around to install and give maint. to such a system.

It may cost close to $25k now because the stuff isn't mass produced but with the right government incentives and guidance, the cost would soon be well under $10k.  My electric bill is between $3500-$4000k a year, do the math.

BTW - the panel for unlimited hot water would cost about $300-$500 to add to a new home.

But then the older neighborhoods, like mine, would have to cut down all those trees planted for shade so that we can actually see the sun. I can imagine the ecological uproar about that one

Oh, and what do you do if you happen to live in Seattle?

[alldaway]

http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/04/13/2008-04-13T114657Z_01_L1396877_RTRIDST_0_SAUDI-OIL.html

Considering we are beyond the peak and most of the oil found in the world I believe is from Mesozoic rock I think it will rise above $4 dollars and alternative fuels will have to be heavily considered.

We are not running out of oil! It is just that demand has exceeded our capacity to drill it and refine it.

There is plenty of sources of oil. We have large wells of oil all over the Gulf of Mexico. Our Florida government refuses to allow any drilling. Sen. Mel Martinez made a big deal about it in the Senate when they started talking about doing it.

We could even go and do the "Nazi fuel." The Nazis were cut off from oil during a period of world war II. So they invented a process where they can turn coal into oil. Here in America we are LOADED with coal. We got coal everywhere. There is also 1.6 trillion barrels of oil up in the Canadian oil sands...enough to fuel the US and Canada for over a century. Problem? Environmentalists in both countries are blocking it.

We are running out of oil sources and the demand is soaring at the same time.  Alaska, Gulf of Mexico, and interior U.S. are just short term solutions to the problem.

Yes the United States has plenty of coal as a fuel and it is used a lot already.  But the problem with coal fuel is that little problem with mercury.  The United States doesn't have problems with mercury working its way to the fish and shelled critters in coastal areas like other countries.  But atmospheric mercury is a real problem for the U.S. (especially the North east) we simply can't ignore.  Using coal is a short term bandaid approach but not a viable long term solution to energy.

Enviromentalists care about the health of our country and the people on this globe.  That is why coal usage is being restricted due to the fact our bodies can't remove mercury on its own processes.

To be frank nuclear power is a better alternative than coal.  The only downside with nuclear power is where to store the waste?  But at least that is manageable unlike coal fuel by products that is put into the atmosphere.  

[alldaway]

Sure and spend how much money installing it?

Again, middle class families dont have 25k lying around to install and give maint. to such a system.

It may cost close to $25k now because the stuff isn't mass produced but with the right government incentives and guidance, the cost would soon be well under $10k. My electric bill is between $3500-$4000k a year, do the math.

BTW - the panel for unlimited hot water would cost about $300-$500 to add to a new home.

But then the older neighborhoods, like mine, would have to cut down all those trees planted for shade so that we can actually see the sun. I can imagine the ecological uproar about that one

Oh, and what do you do if you happen to live in Seattle?

It rains a lot in Seattle and typically is very cloudy. 

Putting solar panels there isn't a good investment.