When it comes to the mess that has evolved in the gulf coast due to the oil rig sinking, I think that what is needed is better direction in what to do to stem the flow of the leaking oil and more resources in dealing with the ever expanding oil slick that is heading to the coastline, with the resources directed at limiting what ends up of the areas that are at most risk of distruction due to even a small amount of the oil entering into that specific environment along with clean up of the areas that can be cleaned.
Yes we do need to know what went wrong and part of that is knowing who made what decisions that helped create the problem on the rig which caused the fire in the first place and then the subsequent sinking and ever expanding oil slick. However at this point we need the people who are capable of stepping up and getting people to stop bickering about who's fault it is and to separate the clean up effort and the attempts at stopping the flow so that people who are dealing with one aspect are not bothered by the other aspect.
Showing posts with label oil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oil. Show all posts
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Monday, July 21, 2008
the economy
With the housing correction and the rising oil prices everyone that has influence over different aspects of the economy have speculated on the different ways we can remedy the short comings that have been made evident when the housing correction and rising oil prices collided.
The economists would prefer a quick fix or the band aid effect when it comes the economy, but the one real problem is that there is no one specific remedy that can cover every aspect of the economy. The one real remedy is something that has aspects that relate specifically to the different aspects of the economy that can be dealt with independently rather than a blanket plan that cover all of the economy.
When the housing correction and rising oil prices hit independent of each other they adversely effected the economy negatively which shows that there is no such thing as a blanket plan when it comes to the economy. Any real plan has to be able to deal with each factor that makes up the economy so it can be corrected as needed to keep the other aspect of the economy in check so there is a lesser effect on the economy than when the housing correction and rising oil prices happened.
Every one of the people who are capable of understanding the data all has their own versions of what should be done and what should not be done. There lies the problem, what is the wrong thing to do in one person’s version may be something right in another persons version, this is due to the interpretation of the available data that they both read. With the wording in the media it sounds like they are not looking at the specifics of their plans that would cause reactions in other areas of the economy that the economists don’t feel are related to what is involved with fixing what went wrong.
We need to look at the economy not as one specific entity we have to look at all of the parts of the economy to understand how one aspect of the economy will affect another aspect whether directly or indirectly through another aspect. Without a plan to deal with each part of the economy individually we cannot hope to actually deal with the economy as a whole which means that everything that happens that can go from the top down with regards to the economy will continue to affect various aspects of the economy with no real idea as to what direction it will take or what should be done with the problem.
Regardless of what is done it will not be as quick or as palatable as people would like but it has to be done without regard to who wants what and when. By allowing interference in any real remedy, the remedy will never fully take hold and will not be adequate.
The real question is; are those who can put the plan in place willing to do what is needed when needed?
The economists would prefer a quick fix or the band aid effect when it comes the economy, but the one real problem is that there is no one specific remedy that can cover every aspect of the economy. The one real remedy is something that has aspects that relate specifically to the different aspects of the economy that can be dealt with independently rather than a blanket plan that cover all of the economy.
When the housing correction and rising oil prices hit independent of each other they adversely effected the economy negatively which shows that there is no such thing as a blanket plan when it comes to the economy. Any real plan has to be able to deal with each factor that makes up the economy so it can be corrected as needed to keep the other aspect of the economy in check so there is a lesser effect on the economy than when the housing correction and rising oil prices happened.
Every one of the people who are capable of understanding the data all has their own versions of what should be done and what should not be done. There lies the problem, what is the wrong thing to do in one person’s version may be something right in another persons version, this is due to the interpretation of the available data that they both read. With the wording in the media it sounds like they are not looking at the specifics of their plans that would cause reactions in other areas of the economy that the economists don’t feel are related to what is involved with fixing what went wrong.
We need to look at the economy not as one specific entity we have to look at all of the parts of the economy to understand how one aspect of the economy will affect another aspect whether directly or indirectly through another aspect. Without a plan to deal with each part of the economy individually we cannot hope to actually deal with the economy as a whole which means that everything that happens that can go from the top down with regards to the economy will continue to affect various aspects of the economy with no real idea as to what direction it will take or what should be done with the problem.
Regardless of what is done it will not be as quick or as palatable as people would like but it has to be done without regard to who wants what and when. By allowing interference in any real remedy, the remedy will never fully take hold and will not be adequate.
The real question is; are those who can put the plan in place willing to do what is needed when needed?
Sunday, June 8, 2008
thoughts on water and energy
With the ever worsening oil prices and the water shortages that are becoming more common place and more apparent we have to start looking at new ways of doing things that require less water being used for non environmental purposes, while increasing the drinkable water with limiting the amount of oil based products to clean the water.
We know that eventually we will have to do large scale water desalinization but most people in a place to make sure it actually happens doesn’t see a real need at this time even though we are starting to show a real need now instead of the timetable that the people in power foresee the need.
We also have a real problem with actually desalinating the water due to how energy intensive it is to do desalinate the water and the most efficient power source we currently have is fossil fuels. We have a real need to desalinate the ocean water and a real need to start using the energy sources that are not fossil fuels in larger scales that are already in the mainstream for power generation.
Those energy sources that look promising and that are far enough along in their testing to attempt a commercial venture should be put into commercial use so that we can benefit from the power generation and to allow their developers to see where the real life can and should be for that specific power source.
With that in mind we need to use hydro, solar, wind and alternative power sources to power any and possibly all water desalinization plants with making sure that any heat generated during this process is also used for the water desalinization process through some sort of heat recovery system. We should also think about how to utilize any point where steam needs to be vented as a power source as well along with trying to recapture that escaping water to some degree.
If the power generation exceeds the needs of the water desalinization plants then that power should be diverted to the local municipalities or to the National Grid to offset any power generation that would otherwise be needed for that area. This would permit the power plants to use less of the needed fossil fuels that fuel the power generation.
Also find ways of designing newer power plants that take advantage of the commercialization of those alternate fuel sources in an attempt to move away from fossil fuels and to learn how to make those alternate fuel sources more reliable and more efficient in real life applications, while utilizing hydro power where available, along with solar and wind sources that would all tie in together to produce the energy for the given area.
Moving away from fossil fuels is a hard sell for everyone who is by nature accustomed to using them but everyone needs to realize that in the short term it isn’t as profitable due to having to start the mass production of some of the sources of energy and to build power plants that utilize non fossil fuel energy sources as their primary source of fuel.
With the way oil futures and prices are going which will oil be the most cost effective in producing the energy needs for the industrialized world in a few years?
We know that eventually we will have to do large scale water desalinization but most people in a place to make sure it actually happens doesn’t see a real need at this time even though we are starting to show a real need now instead of the timetable that the people in power foresee the need.
We also have a real problem with actually desalinating the water due to how energy intensive it is to do desalinate the water and the most efficient power source we currently have is fossil fuels. We have a real need to desalinate the ocean water and a real need to start using the energy sources that are not fossil fuels in larger scales that are already in the mainstream for power generation.
Those energy sources that look promising and that are far enough along in their testing to attempt a commercial venture should be put into commercial use so that we can benefit from the power generation and to allow their developers to see where the real life can and should be for that specific power source.
With that in mind we need to use hydro, solar, wind and alternative power sources to power any and possibly all water desalinization plants with making sure that any heat generated during this process is also used for the water desalinization process through some sort of heat recovery system. We should also think about how to utilize any point where steam needs to be vented as a power source as well along with trying to recapture that escaping water to some degree.
If the power generation exceeds the needs of the water desalinization plants then that power should be diverted to the local municipalities or to the National Grid to offset any power generation that would otherwise be needed for that area. This would permit the power plants to use less of the needed fossil fuels that fuel the power generation.
Also find ways of designing newer power plants that take advantage of the commercialization of those alternate fuel sources in an attempt to move away from fossil fuels and to learn how to make those alternate fuel sources more reliable and more efficient in real life applications, while utilizing hydro power where available, along with solar and wind sources that would all tie in together to produce the energy for the given area.
Moving away from fossil fuels is a hard sell for everyone who is by nature accustomed to using them but everyone needs to realize that in the short term it isn’t as profitable due to having to start the mass production of some of the sources of energy and to build power plants that utilize non fossil fuel energy sources as their primary source of fuel.
With the way oil futures and prices are going which will oil be the most cost effective in producing the energy needs for the industrialized world in a few years?
Sunday, April 27, 2008
oil and food
With the oil prices skyrocketing, the industries that normally use petroleum products are trying to find new ways of producing the same product with out petroleum products which is compounding another problem that already exists. This is the food shortage in some areas of the world which has been growing worse on its own through environmental factors and a growing population requiring larger amounts of food to be grown, with the industries that normally use petroleum products looking for alternatives they have found one alternative but it is causing the food shortage to grow faster than it was before.
No one seems to agree what to do to produce the needed amounts of grain that are needed for the growing world populations or for the new industries vying for those same grains to produce non food products based from the individual components of the grains.
Everyone that has done research seems to agree at least in part that we may end up having to use the deserts of the world for farming sometime in the next few generations but I haven’t heard of anyone taking the time to actually see what can be done now to start farming the deserts in an attempt to deal with both the growing population and the new demands placed on farms to produce crops for non food related products.
I know that it would not be cheap to farm in the deserts due to the fact that the farmers would need really large amounts of water to maintain their crops, which would mean that the water would have to come from desalinating ocean water so drinking water would not be taken away from the world’s population. The desalinization process itself is a costly adventure due to the energy costs that are associated with it at least when it comes to the traditional ways of producing the energy for the desalinization process.
We as the caretakers of the world have advanced far enough with trying to produce energy without the use of fossil fuels and with using renewable and green fuels. We have found that we can use both the sun and the water to create power instead of using fossil fuels but we are somewhat limited in how well we can use them due to our technology. We also tend to limit ourselves in regards to what we think can be done.
We know how to produce siphons, but I have not heard of anyone even attempting to use a siphon as a sustainable power source. What is actually stopping someone from designing a water turbine to be attached to the outtake of a siphon to create power?
No one seems to agree what to do to produce the needed amounts of grain that are needed for the growing world populations or for the new industries vying for those same grains to produce non food products based from the individual components of the grains.
Everyone that has done research seems to agree at least in part that we may end up having to use the deserts of the world for farming sometime in the next few generations but I haven’t heard of anyone taking the time to actually see what can be done now to start farming the deserts in an attempt to deal with both the growing population and the new demands placed on farms to produce crops for non food related products.
I know that it would not be cheap to farm in the deserts due to the fact that the farmers would need really large amounts of water to maintain their crops, which would mean that the water would have to come from desalinating ocean water so drinking water would not be taken away from the world’s population. The desalinization process itself is a costly adventure due to the energy costs that are associated with it at least when it comes to the traditional ways of producing the energy for the desalinization process.
We as the caretakers of the world have advanced far enough with trying to produce energy without the use of fossil fuels and with using renewable and green fuels. We have found that we can use both the sun and the water to create power instead of using fossil fuels but we are somewhat limited in how well we can use them due to our technology. We also tend to limit ourselves in regards to what we think can be done.
We know how to produce siphons, but I have not heard of anyone even attempting to use a siphon as a sustainable power source. What is actually stopping someone from designing a water turbine to be attached to the outtake of a siphon to create power?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
