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Oil at $87 and rising - still no alternative energy
Imported oil is favoured over alternative energy, governments tilt the markets that way.
Date: 10/17/2007 9:39:22 AM ( 17 y ) ... viewed 1760 times
Oil at $87 and rising - still no alternative energy!! Ever wonder whats going on? I have an idea - and its not as crazy as that last post. This is harsh reality.
I remember that we understood that as the price of oil went higher it was going to be balanced out against alternative energy becoming more affordable
The high price of oil was supposed to [hoped to] make alternative energy more attractive, and the markets would adjust with lowered demand for oil as alternatives come onstream. The emissions from fossil fuels would also slow, it was all going to balance out in the 'free market system'.
Electricity from coal is a different story I guess, but coal is heavily subsidized, as is natural gas-fired electrical production, and nuclear too. We could be running our cars on electricity instead of gasoline if the markets were actually "free" of interferance from government regulation. And that elctricity could be from solar and wind and tidal etc... the technology is here now, it has been for awhile.
People are willing to pay almost any price for their tank of gasoline, whatever it is, we pay it - there is no 'alternative'. I guess the price of oil will keep on rising, as do EMISSIONS. No balancing at all.
But alternatives are possible - Calgary runs it's transit system on wind power. More replacments for diesel and gasoline like that might have kept the price of oil lower, and encouraged more wind and solar power, but regulations kept that from happening.
It turns out there that were LIMITS placed on the amount of alternative energy allowed, such as wind and solar, in regulations by governments... in Alberta, and Ontario, the two I know about now. These limits were recently removed in Alberta, and thats when we [I] found about about them. That has kept non-fossil fuel transport from becoming popular and widespread.
What other blockages has government put on alternative energy? Probably lots - including regulations that make it nearly impossible and unaffordable to hook your solar panels into the grid. Killing the Electric car. Helping oil and gas with low royalties, and hefty subsidies for various fossil fuel production.
Gasoline refining and sales are rumoured to be the most profitable part of the energy industry. Importing foreign oil is a close 2nd, and may be 'bigger', just not having the high profits margins as gasoline sales. Importing oil trumps everything - the Alaskan senator said yesterday that "domestic oil production is being discouraged in favour of importing oil, since those importers make better money that way". Everything!! Global warming included.
Everything seems to be done by governments to help them do business, while those same governments get in the way of alternative energy. We might wonder why, if there is corruption and kickbacks and support for election campaigns and maybe personal rewards. Corruption is everywhere, why would we think it is not in the most profitable sectors of the economy, with $Billions and $Billions at stake every year.
So emissions continue to rise ; Many or most Canadians #1 issue is climate change ; Nothing is done to help clean energy come onstream - imagine if 20 years ago alternative energy had gotten the same support as hydrocarbon energy industry gets from government regulations!!! We might have had 20% or 50% of our energy coming from 'clean sources' now, which would be cheaper once the initial costs are paid off since it is "free" after that... unlike coal-fired electricity and gasoline which will allways have high input costs. We could have been driving electric cars, and getting the electricity to power them from solar and wind, but imported oil and gasoline sales were too important for somebody...
Go figure, who is government for again? Who killed the electric car? Who says we cannot meet Kyoto targets?
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PS - I am, as you may know, a Canadian, so this is from that perspective, but it is the American oil importers and gasoline producers who rule the markets trends, and apparently, governments.
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