Gulf Oil Spill 2010

[The Rube]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

you know, as much as you say that there are lot of little one off companies doing some weird stuff.... and even some of the Japanese mainstream companies are treading with some weird stuff.

Hybrids massively disappointed me... they promised 80 mpg... they're delivering something much worse than a Geo from the late 1980s early 1990s (or whatever car it was getting 52 highway). Makes you just shake your head....

For that matter... for all this talk of the auto/oil conspiracy... if that were true do you think Chrystler and GM would have gone bankrupt? Its a two way street.

Well, the car companies had to hold up their end of the bargain, too, by running a sound business. And given the fact that many foreign car companies build their stuff here, I have this little tiny hunch that the oil lobbies cater to them, too.

Unless government gets in the way, or there is a mass stoppage of oil usage by all consumers (the former is actually more probable than the latter, amazingly), oil isn't going anywhere for a long, long time.

 

[WeWantMore]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

http://www.addictinggames.com/oiligarchy.html

Try as I might, I can only unlock the human incinerators about 1 in 4 tries.

 

[Kepler]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

Maybe I'm wrong, but I've heard that of every gallon sold, station owners make pennies. Where they make their profit is on the in-store stuff, snacks, newspapers, coffee, etc.

This is supposedly why the oil companies unloaded their stations to independent operators.

The only way to punish an oil company executive is targeted assassination.

 

[huskyfan]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

This is supposedly why the oil companies unloaded their stations to independent operators.

The only way to punish an oil company executive is targeted assassination.

whoa.

 

[FueledByRamen]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

This is supposedly why the oil companies unloaded their stations to independent operators.

The only way to punish an oil company executive is targeted assassination.

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Heavy metal...

Tell us how you really feel

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

Hybrids massively disappointed me... they promised 80 mpg... they're delivering something much worse than a Geo from the late 1980s early 1990s (or whatever car it was getting 52 highway). Makes you just shake your head....

That's essentially why I avoided buying one myself. You don't get any fuel economy out of it and that's what was promised.

 

[unh_hockey]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

That's essentially why I avoided buying one myself. You don't get any fuel economy out of it and that's what was promised.

The age old problem of someone promising a certain specification, than offloading an impossible task with a limited timeline and resources onto the design engineers. Of course it won't be as good as you said, it was some dude with a business degree making said promises!

Lets also not forget the actual manufacturing of the hybrid cars whose carbon foot print ( mining, shipping etc) is probably higher than the standard car. ( any one with a source on this?). As for the battery technology, i hear a lot of rare earth elements required to make them are in China. Yay.

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

The age old problem of someone promising a certain specification, than offloading an impossible task with a limited timeline and resources onto the design engineers. Of course it won't be as good as you said, it was some dude with a business degree making said promises!

Lets also not forget the actual manufacturing of the hybrid cars whose carbon foot print ( mining, shipping etc) is probably higher than the standard car. ( any one with a source on this?). As for the battery technology, i hear a lot of rare earth elements required to make them are in China. Yay.

The conspiracy theorist believes that we have had the capabilities of getting 100 MPH for quite a while now and the oil companies have shot it down.

What do we have? Anything? Oh, yeah, coal.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

The conspiracy theorist believes that we have had the capabilities of getting 100 MPH for quite a while now and the oil companies have shot it down.

What do we have? Anything? Oh, yeah, coal.

Yeah, toyota solved the 100 MPH problem by jamming the throttle wide open.

 

[eaglehockeyrules]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

The only way to punish an oil company executive is targeted assassination.

As a stockholder, I'd beg to differ. I happen to like money, and I have a lot of it too... banked away, invested in CDs and 529(k), and Magellan (Remember those? I certainly do!), all due to playing the stocks. Since when did making profit become a crime? Why don't you look at the taxes of oil industry compared compared to other industries?!

Popular culture influence: I think the movie Wall Street became the liberal mantra and new ideology that we must all be equal and everyone must have a piece of the pie without investing or working. Where's Jon Stewart to declare his trademark "Go F Yourself!"?!?! Perhaps those unfortunates in urban areas should invest in their future instead of leasing BMWs and Mercedes.

Funny thing is, you cannot blame this oil spill on Bushie; though I am sure many leftists will try to tie his administration to it.

I thought Obama was the new savior for America?! If so...

- Why is gas over three dollars a gallon?
- Why are there still troops in Iraq and Afghanistan?
- How come Gitmo is still open?
- Why weren't the Gitmo prisoners tried as of yet?
- Why was it acceptable that the Cash For Clunkers cost the tax payer $7 for every $1?

Obama = same old politics as usual, with a lot less transparency.

 

[Foxton]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

As a stockholder, I'd beg to differ. I happen to like money, and I have a lot of it too... banked away, invested in CDs and 529(k), and Magellan (Remember those? I certainly do!), all due to playing the stocks. Since when did making profit become a crime? Why don't you look at the taxes of oil industry compared compared to other industries?!

Popular culture influence: I think the movie Wall Street became the liberal mantra and new ideology that we must all be equal and everyone must have a piece of the pie without investing or working. Where's Jon Stewart to declare his trademark "Go F Yourself!"?!?! Perhaps those unfortunates in urban areas should invest in their future instead of leasing BMWs and Mercedes.

Funny thing is, you cannot blame this oil spill on Obama; though I am sure many leftists will try to tie his administration to it.

I thought Obama was the new savior for America?! If so...

- Why is gas over three dollars a gallon?
- Why are there still troops in Iraq and Afghanistan?
- How come Gitmo is still open?
- Why weren't the Gitmo prisoners tried as of yet?
- Why was it acceptable that the Cash For Clunkers cost the tax payer $7 for every $1?

Obama = same old politics as usual, with a lot less transparency.

 

[BassAle]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

IMO, ethanol is just an excuse to give out subsidies to farmers and research grants to universities. It drives up food costs, is less efficient than gasoline, and is not the long-term answer.

Other forms of ethanol are far better than corn ethanol (cellulosic material like switchgrass or wood pulp). The problem is that it is more complicated to refine cellulosic ethanol corn-based ethanol, and corn is available for below production costs thanks to government subsidies. I've read that using switchgrass returns over 500% of the energy put into growing and refining vs about 25% for ethanol. Of course, cellulosic ethanol is only a small piece of the puzzle to get us less dependent on petroleum.

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

Other forms of ethanol are far better than corn ethanol (cellulosic material like switchgrass or wood pulp). The problem is that it is more complicated to refine cellulosic ethanol corn-based ethanol, and corn is available for below production costs thanks to government subsidies. I've read that using switchgrass returns over 500% of the energy put into growing and refining vs about 25% for ethanol. Of course, cellulosic ethanol is only a small piece of the puzzle to get us less dependent on petroleum.

500%? Why isn't the Feds mandating that? They mandate everything else.



Algae looks very promising as well. This is "change" we can believe in.

 

[BassAle]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

500%? Why isn't the Feds mandating that? They mandate everything else.



Algae looks very promising as well. This is "change" we can believe in.

the corn industry has a lot of power, and it is easier to turn into ethanol. the yield isn't very good though so it isn't a viable solution. Switchgrass = no subsidy and a more complicated refining process that hasn't been commercialized yet. If you want to start an ethanol refinery you can buy the corn at below production costs, and probably get a government subsidy so you can sell your product below your production cost. It think the DOE wants to build a 50 million dollar switchgrass ethanol refinery though.

 

[Priceless]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

500%? Why isn't the Feds mandating that? They mandate everything else.

They need an army of lobbyists armed with blank checks to tell them they should mandate and subsidize the industry.

 

[blockski]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

Interactive oil spill tracker:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/01/us/20100501-oil-spill-tracker.html?hp

 

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

If only such a thing existed....

That is sweet corn. I guarantee that isn't going to be ethanol.

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

the corn industry has a lot of power, and it is easier to turn into ethanol. the yield isn't very good though so it isn't a viable solution. Switchgrass = no subsidy and a more complicated refining process that hasn't been commercialized yet. If you want to start an ethanol refinery you can buy the corn at below production costs, and probably get a government subsidy so you can sell your product below your production cost. It think the DOE wants to build a 50 million dollar switchgrass ethanol refinery though.

That's not Capitalism. That's..........I don't know what that is.

 

[geezer]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

The conspiracy theorist believes that we have had the capabilities of getting 100 MPG for quite a while now and the oil companies have shot it down.

It's fact! But it's not all on "big oil". Our own "representative" government has repeatedly limited efficiency by mandating gus-sucking emissions scrubbers and safety requirements. Talk to some engineers. Cars were far more efficient years ago, and indeed we could be getting 100 MPG today. But we're getting 20-30 in the name of oil conservation and mandated "safety".

 

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Gulf Oil Spill 2010

It's fact! But it's not all on "big oil". Our own "representative" government has repeatedly limited efficiency by mandating gus-sucking emissions scrubbers and safety requirements. Talk to some engineers. Cars were far more efficient years ago, and indeed we could be getting 100 MPG today. But we're getting 20-30 in the name of oil conservation and mandated "safety".

I'm an engineer and my last job was to develop engine ratings. When the EPA mandated the 2010 emission standards, we lost about 20% efficiency. There isn't anything we can do, they're forcing us to run the engine at conditions that simply aren't the most efficient, for the sake of emissions.