Across the country, the oil and gas industry is vastly increasing production, reversing two decades of decline. Using new technology and spurred by rising oil prices since the mid-2000s, the industry is extracting millions of barrels more a week, from the deepest waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the prairies of North Dakota.
At the same time, Americans are pumping significantly less gasoline. While that is partly a result of the recession and higher gasoline prices, people are also driving fewer miles and replacing older cars with more fuel-efficient vehicles at a greater clip, federal data show.
Taken together, the increasing production and declining consumption have unexpectedly brought the United States markedly closer to a goal that has tantalized presidents since Richard Nixon: independence from foreign energy sources, a milestone that could reconfigure American foreign policy, the economy and more.
There’s one thing missing from this: [i]truly AFFORDABLE new cars.[/i] This may come as a surprise, but a good many Americans [i]cannot afford the high prices of new cars.[/i] $15,000 for even the least expensive fuel-efficient car is out of reach for many of us. What do the manufacturers have to say about [i]that?[/i] If we’re to cut down on gasoline consumption, how about doing something about that problem?
And the direction Obama is taking to address the high cost of gasoline is to push us in the direction of even higher cost fuels… How much is a gallon of algae going to cost (minus the massive Federal subsidies), and how many miles will it go? Or how much per mile is electricity going to cost, especially when all the ‘cheap’ electricity (generated by Coal, nuclear, or hydro) is gone and all our electricity is generated by wind or solar? Not counting the replacement batteries (you know they don’t last forever, right?)…
Sorry, but this tax payer funded drive to increase the cost of living in general by increasing the cost of energy is silly.
I’d love to have a geothermal unit for my home. I’m looking at getting a geothermal water heater and then go into the heating/cooling aspects. It’s really efficient and makes sense.
And as for those batteries…….and all-electric cars: What do you do with the by-products of manufacturing those batteries? Recycle them? Into what? What do you do with the toxic materials in these products?
And how much energy goes into recharging those batteries?
TT2: Geothermal looks very good on paper but do the math for your particular situation. We looked at it as a capital investment [$20K for heat, cool, hot water] and tried to calculate a rate of return on the investment. Using detailed analysis of how much of our yearly electrical usage went to heat, to cool, and to make hot water [an all-electric house], and how geothermal efficiency would impact each of those modes of energy usage, we concluded that [even with federal tax credits and a rebate from our electrical company] the return just was not there for our monthly 800-1800KW electrical consumption. In other words people with much bigger houses or larger electrical demands than ours would get a better return from geothermal. After running the numbers we changed out our 20year old heat pump for the highest efficiency Carrier unit on the market. And we have had excellent results. Now if you just want to go geothermal because you like it [eg, you have a lake to tap into], go for it!
After reading this article there are only two possible conclusions. The writer is on very heavy drugs or his news source was Bill Ayers. This is pure and simple (made up) propaganda.
I have a friend that lives out in the country in Missouri, and put in a Geothermal unit for his Heat/AC. He is in his 30’s, and his payback is about 12 years…. Assuming, of course, that his system does not need any changes/updates/major repairs….
The cheapest sources of energy at this time are gasoline for vehicles, and coal for electricity…. Not sure anyone on the ‘green train’ actually understands that ‘the cost of energy will necessarily skyrocket’ with these ‘to be developed’ options. People that are complaining about the cost of gas now, don’t comprehend that…. We are going down a path that will cause the cost of fueling our vehicles to skyrocket….
Capt. Father Warren,
I have an estimate of about $7K for my little home, which is before the tax incentives. They estimated I’d only need a 1 ton unit. What I like about Geothermal is its efficiency and simplicity (well, aside from all of the pipes, of course, lol). I do like the concept of removing heat from the air rather than pumping cool air in. It just seems to make more sense.
According to a chart I saw which estimated payback time based on location, energy source and house size, I’d only be looking at about 5 years before it paid for itself. That’s really quite good. My high energy usage is in the summer due to our wretched heat.
I’m hoping I can do this next year. I would need a vertical system and, of course, they’d have to consult a geological survey to see how far down they could dig before encountering rock. That will probably influence feasibility and cost. But I think this is an upgrade that makes sense for me immediately and would also add value to my home.
Wow! If you can do it for $7k that is excellent. I don’t recall the exact figures, but I recall that the drilling for the vertical pipes and the water pump unit and all that was going to be around $10k and then another $10k for heat pump and new geo-water heater. The lower investment will definitly help payback. Good luck!
David, can you tell us what the misstaments in the article are so that we can evaluate the information.