Short Quiz No. 1 - Questions + Suggested Answers

[johnkarls]

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Question 1

Why are the environmental/energy positions of Al Gore and Barack Obama so fundamentally opposed?

Answer 1

Al Gore is saying “full speed ahead”!!! We have the technology to replace all of our coal- and gas-fired electrical-generating plants with wind and solar – and if we start now, we can complete the job within 10 years.

Barack Obama is saying “do nothing except research”!!! (Indeed, both his web site and speeches were, until just recently, talking solely about $15 billion/year for research – it was only in the last few weeks that he massaged this to say this research would take the form of “strategically investing…to catalyze private efforts” and, to make the amount sound larger, specifying $150 billion over 10 years (though who knows, this could provide “wiggle room” for doing nothing during the first 4 years by claiming the promised amount is now "back loaded"!!!))

It is a historical fact that Barack Obama has been a champion of coal since his first term in the Illinois legislature when he “carried water” for the Southern Illinois coal-mining companies, though he has continued to “carry water” for the coal industry in the U.S. Senate.

Barack Obama’s refusal to join Al Gore in implementing wind and solar while insisting instead on research implies that he is still hoping for a break-through in “clean coal” technology – an oxymoron if there ever was one!!! As we have learned over the last year, even if technology improves to the point that 100% of the carbon emissions (or “greenhouse gases”) from coal-fired electrical plants can be sequestered in underground caverns, the National Institute of Health has already published a paper that this will only result in humans going the way of the dinosaur!!! (Please see "Decreased Oxygen Content in the Atmosphere - An Ecological Disaster Imperceptibly Sneaking Up?" at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7550172.) Dinosaurs could not survive a drop in the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere (currently about 21%) of only 2%. And humans can not survive a drop in the percentage of oxygen of another 2% - 3%. Oxidizing (aka “burning”) coal means combining the carbon contained in the coal WHICH COMES FROM UNDERGROUND with oxygen WHICH COMES FROM THE ATMOSPHERE – and if you are going to sequester the resulting carbon dioxide in underground caverns, the net result is removal of oxygen from the atmosphere!!!

The National Institute of Health “should get off the dime” and have Congress outlaw carbon sequestration!!! And override any White House veto if necessary!!!

Question 2

Will Barack Obama’s environmental/energy position for the next 10 years, during which he has been proposing to spend $15 billion/year on research, continue the pattern of borrowing $700 billion/year from China in order to purchase oil from foreign producers? Among other things, adding $7 trillion to America’s foreign debt? (NB: $7 trillion is approximately 50% of America’s annual Gross Domestic Product or “GDP” and is more than America’s total debt at the beginning of 2008!)

Answer 2

Yes. Yes.

Question 3

Why is Barack Obama’s environmental/energy policy of putting one million “plug-in hybrid cars” on the road by 2015 such an environmental disaster unless Al Gore’s July 17th 10-Year Challenge is adopted (which Barack has refused to do)? And completed early? (NB: even 31 December 2015 is less than 7 years from Inauguration Day in January 2009!)

Answer 3

As we have learned over the past year, whether “plug in” electrical vehicles (such as the buses of the City of Los Angeles) are an environmental disaster depends on the type of fuel used to generate the electricity. Because of the 75% wastage of energy contained in the fuel being converted to electricity during the conversion process itself.

Currently, “plug in” electrical vehicles in the United States are environmental disasters because 100% of all additional or incremental electricity generated in the U.S. is generated from coal, natural gas or fuel oil – all of which as hydrocarbons produce greenhouse gases. And, most often, the additional electricity is generated from coal which produces “acid rain” in addition to greenhouse gases!!!

In other words, if Los Angeles used conventional diesel buses, there would be 75% less carbon/greenhouse gases produced from using conventional diesel bus engines than from obtaining the same amount of power in the form of electricity during the generation of which 75% of the energy-content of the coal, natural gas or fuel oil is wasted.

The cynical reason why Los Angeles uses “plug in” electric buses is because of California legal requirements that all additional electricity used in California must be generated outside California – in other words “down wind” from California!!!

So Los Angeles does succeed in exporting its smog and acid rain to states like Utah!!!

But Al Gore would tell Los Angeles that from a global warming viewpoint, it doesn’t matter whether you require your electricity to be generated “down wind” because greenhouse gases produced anywhere in the world have the same impact!!!

ACCORDINGLY, BARACK OBAMA’S SOPHOMORIC PROPOSAL FOR PUTTING ONE MILLION “PLUG IN” ELECTRICAL VEHICLES ON THE ROAD WITHOUT GIVING A THOUGHT TO WHAT FUEL WILL BE USED TO GENERATE THE ADDITIONAL OR INCREMENTAL ELECTRICITY THAT THEY USE – IS UTTERLY IRRESPONSIBLE!!!

Question 4

What are the relative “carbon footprints” for – oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydro, wind, solar?

Answer 4

Oil, natural gas and coal are all hydrocarbons.

Hydro, wind and solar have NO carbon footprint.

As a rough “rule of thumb,” the carbon footprint from oil, natural gas and coal are identical for the same amount of power output, since the power is generated by oxidizing their carbon.

In addition, oil, natural gas and coal often contain other pollutants – especially sulphur (think “acid rain”).

The sulphur is removed from the natural gas before transmission through gas pipelines, because of the corrosion to the pipelines that the sulphur would cause.

The sulphur is also removed from the crude oil in the refining process – which can be thought of as little more than a “moonshine still” with different crude oil products (gasoline, av jet, kerosene, etc.) boiling off at different temperatures. Though a separate “de-sulphurization” unit is required because the sulphur can contaminate the different products as they “boil off” in the refining process.

The sulphur cannot be effectively removed from the coal before it is burned. However, at such a great cost that coal becomes uneconomic, the coal can be “gassified” during the course of which the sulphur can be removed.

Question 5

In producing electricity from these energy sources, what percentage of their energy content is wasted in the conversion process to electricity?

Answer 5

75% of the BTU content of coal, natural gas or fuel oil is wasted in the conversion process.

In other words, coal which would produce 100 BTU’s of energy if used to heat your home will, if used to heat a coal-fired electrical plant, produce electricity with only 25 BTU’s.

Or an electrical lawnmower produces 400% of the greenhouses gases (and acid rain besides) – compared to a gasoline lawnmower of equal power.

Question 6

Which of the energy sources listed above (oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydro, wind, solar) are abundant domestically, and which must be imported?

Answer 6

Natural gas, coal, nuclear, wind and solar are all abundant domestically.

Hydro cannot be expanded to meet all of our energy needs, even if we “had the stomach” to build more dams, because after destroying much of our environment, we would run out of enough places to build new dams.

Only crude oil needs to be imported – to the tune of $700 billion/year!!!

Question 7

Why was Utah on the front page of the New York Times recently with respect to natural gas vehicles?

Answer 7

Utah and Wyoming are the only states in the United States that have gas stations offering fuel for natural-gas vehicles in conjunction with Questar. A list of filling stations offering natural gas is available at "http://www.questargas.com/ngv/web/displ ... mit=Submit". There are currently 24 stations in Utah, including 4 in Salt Lake City, 2 in Sandy, and 1 each in Murray and Park City.

Question 8

Does natural gas cost less than the equivalent of $0.90/gallon for gasoline?

Answer 8

Yes.

Question 9

Are there any natural gas vehicles produced commercially, or must a conventional car engine be converted for consuming natural gas?

Answer 9

Yes – the Honda Civic GX.

Question 10

Do Utah’s natural gas vehicles comport with Al Gore’s 10-Year Challenge to America? With T. Boone Pickens’ natural gas “bridge” to Al Gore’s dream?

Answer 10

Al Gore’s 17 July 2008 Challenge to America CONTEMPLATES PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES POWERED BY ELECTRICITY GENERATED FROM WIND AND SOLAR POWER.

T. Boone Pickens’ questions whether Al Gore’s challenge is too ambitious – suggesting that vehicles use natural gas while wind is used to produce electricity. This would still achieve energy independence for our foreign policy, eliminate our balance of payments deficit (borrowing $700 billion/year from the Chinese to buy oil from other foreign countries), and create American jobs – while tackling later an expansion of America’s supply of electricity from wind and solar in order to power vehicles.

As previously noted, Barack Obama doesn’t even give any thought to whether his additional 1 million plug-in electric cars will cause new coal-fired electric plants to be built – squandering 75% of the BTU content of the coal, and creating both greenhouse gases and acid rain. Much less any thought to T. Boone Picken’s nuanced approach of switching vehicles to natural gas immediately to solve 3 out of our 4 problems immediately, while we see whether we can generate 100% of our existing electricity from wind and solar WITHIN 10 YEARS – before seeing whether we can exceed that goal within 10 years to begin powering vehicles with electricity AS SOON AS CLEAN ELECTRICITY IS AVAILABLE FOR THEM.

In other words, T. Boone Pickens would say that you shouldn't switch your vehicles to electricity immediately which puts you "further behind the 8 ball" in solving the problems of greenhouse gases, energy dependence and balance of payments deficits. Rather, wait until you see how long it takes you to replace all of your coal- and gas- and fuel oil-fired electricity plants with electrical plants powered by wind and solar. And only after you have done so, should you begin switching vehicles over to electricity -- BUT NO FASTER THAN YOU BUILD ADDITIONAL ELECTRICAL PLANTS POWERED BY WIND AND SOLAR!!!