In 1922 there were 12 million cars in the United States, and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that the country would run out of oil by 1942. But in 2016, there were 268.8 million US vehicles burning oil and gas. Was the U.S.G.S. off-base or what! The reason they were clueless was that they didn’t take into account new discovery and extraction solutions to come.
Democrat Presidents Carter (1977-1981) and Obama (2009-2017) both lamely claimed America was running out of oil and created policies based on nonsense. Their shortsightedness was convenient because they could push their green energy razzle dazzle. Carter at least had a more favorable take on nuclear energy though today repeating the truth that nuclear is the cleanest and cheapest energy may cost you your head or job.
However, most climate scientists have shown they can’t find their crotch with a care dog and/or are political pimps telling stuffed suits what they want to hear to keep those grants coming.
There has been a growing movement to replace hydrocarbons (gas, oil, coal) which collectively supply 84% of the world’s energy. The number grows to the high 90 percentile when you add hydro and nuclear resources. This alternative fuel gig started with the fear that we were running out of oil (Carter and Obama).
That fear or excuse has since evolved into the belief that using these abundant new found fossil fuel resources provided by God were altering His climate and tainting His world. Regardless of what the media says this is a crock.
After all the hullabaloo, tax credits, subsidies, crony capitalism, “Gorey” movies, fraud and global warming rallies in the freezing cold, solar and batteries—the favored alternatives to hydrocarbons—provide just 2% of the world’s energy and 3% of America’s. Whoopee! Don’t yard sale your candles and matches.
Wait a minute, Bezerkley just banned natural gas in favor of the egregiously expensive pain-in-the-butt-to-use electricity? And, it’s all based on scientific lunacy.
Nonetheless, a bold new lie has gained popularity: that we’re on the cusp of a tech-driven energy revolution that not only can, but inevitably will, rapidly replace all hydrocarbons. Oh please! We need more than innovative software.
Even world renowned investor Warren Buffet, big into bird blenders, says he’s in it for the tax credits since it will never generate a profit on its own. That means the wind industry exists today because your money was taken and given to wind mill companies.
An article by Mark Mills for the Manhattan Institute - “The ‘New Energy Economy’: An Exercise in Magical Thinking” says “The energy needed to move a ton of people, heat a ton of steel or silicon, or grow a ton of food is determined by properties of nature whose boundaries are set by laws of gravity, inertia, friction, mass, and thermodynamics—not clever software.”
His paper highlights “the physics of energy to illustrate why there is no possibility that the world is undergoing—or can undergo—a near-term transition to a ‘new energy economy.’”
No nerd or high roller can fathom a cheaper, more powerful, stable, safe and more abundant energy source than fossil fuels. This means that spending $1 million on utility-scale wind turbines, or solar panels will each, over 30 years of operation, produce about 50 million kilowatt-hours (kWh)—while an equivalent $1 million spent on a shale rig produces enough natural gas over 30 years to generate over 300 million kWh.
For solar, the era of ten-fold gains is over. It isn’t in the physics cards. The physics boundary for silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells, the Shockley-Queisser Limit, is a maximum conversion of 34% of photons into electrons; the best commercial PV technology today exceeds 26%. No more belt loosening here.
The same bad news exists for wind power gains. The physics boundary for a wind turbine, the Betz Limit, is a maximum capture of 60% of kinetic energy in moving air; commercial turbines today exceed 40%. Wind power is a big loser for the taxpayer.
Oh, and no sun or wind, no power. Hold that thought.
The shocker for you battery lovers is that the annual output of Tesla’s Gigafactory, the world’s largest battery factory, could store three minutes’ worth of annual U.S. electricity demand. It would require 1,000 years of production to make enough batteries for two days’ worth of U.S. electricity demand. Meanwhile, 50–100 pounds of materials are mined, moved, and processed using fossil fuels for every pound of battery produced.
Lefties either can’t do math or love the darkness.
(Get Lou’s weekly podcasts at “No Hostages Radio” and articles at nohostagesradio.com)