ENERGY CRISIS!
American geophysicist Marion Hubbert proposed a theory in 1956 that postulates oil production follows an eponymous curve. One of the predictions of this theory is that oil production will or already has peaked, and there is a lot of debate concerning whether the Hubbert peak has passed.
Debate no more.
A little known fact is that the term oil reserves refers to the amount of oil recoverable under current economic restraint, and not the physical quantity of it in the ground. Hence technological improvements and the sky-high price per barrel of conventional petroleum actually increase the world oil reserves.
More importantly are the newly viable petroleum sources - tar sands and oil shale. In the past, it has been unfeasable to obtain petroleum from tar sands and oil shale simply because extraction can cost up to $30 a barrel while crude oil is closer to $10 a barrel. Recently, as crude oil shot to over $70 a barrel on world markets, it suddenly looked like a grand idea to head over to politically stable Canada and dig up some sandy oil. So much so that $100 billion is being pumped in the Fort McMurray area to build the necessary infrastructure.
Below I'm going to provide you with a list of the estimated total amount of oil in all its possible forms, just to prove that we are nowhere near the end of fossil fuels:
Exhibit A) Crude Oil
Estimated world resources: 1.7 trillion barrels
Exhibit B) Oil Shale
Estimated world resources: 1.6 trillion barrels
Exhibit C) Tar Sands (bitumen)
Estimated world resources: 3.6 trillion barrels
These figures are begging the question - so how much oil do we actually use? Currently, annual petroleum consumption is 28 billion barrels which of course is expected to rise steadily as Indians and Chinese start buying Hummers by the boatload. If we make the assumption that annual world oil consumption is steady at 50 billion barrels, we've got 138 years left. Just for giggles 'n grins, we could include coal in our bag of fossil fuels:
Exhibit D) Coal
Estimated world resources: one exagram (1 followed by 15 zeros grams)
This coal will last at 300 years if population doesn't increase and an estimated 164 years if it does. In addition to coal, there are still other hydrocarbon fuels to be included such as natural gas and alternative fuels like ethanol which is extracted from corn or biodiesel which is extracted from the grease pit out back of McDonald's.
Think we've reached the Hubbert peak? Not likely - from the looks of things we've got over 300 years of carbon monoxide and dioxide huffing left to perfect nuclear fusion.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
The Holy Qur'an - Now Dolphin Free!
Christians beware: the days of Jesus appearing on a tortilla or a urine stain out back of Burger King are giving way to a new breed of religious incarnation.
A fisherman in the small village of Vanga in Kenya last week came home with more than his typical piscine haul. Said Ali, the lucky Muslim to directly receive the words of Allah, discovered that one of his tuna fish had Arabic writing on its side. Further inspection revealed that it wasn't just any Arabic, this fish was carrying around a passage from the Qur'an which translated says, "You are the best provider." Read for yourself (remember, right to left!):
Now if you only had an infinite number of tuna, an infinite number of monkeys with digital cameras to photograph them, and one damn good color printer, you're guaranteed the entire text of the Qur'an. Who needs Mohammed?
A fisherman in the small village of Vanga in Kenya last week came home with more than his typical piscine haul. Said Ali, the lucky Muslim to directly receive the words of Allah, discovered that one of his tuna fish had Arabic writing on its side. Further inspection revealed that it wasn't just any Arabic, this fish was carrying around a passage from the Qur'an which translated says, "You are the best provider." Read for yourself (remember, right to left!):
Now if you only had an infinite number of tuna, an infinite number of monkeys with digital cameras to photograph them, and one damn good color printer, you're guaranteed the entire text of the Qur'an. Who needs Mohammed?
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Libya or Bust!
An unprecedented step in America's War on Terror was taken on Monday, as the Secretary of State issued a statement revealing that the US will restore full diplomatic relations with Libya. This move serves both as a historic triumph over past US-Libyan tensions and as another example of the Bush administration's enigmatic foreign policy.
What is surprising is that this decision was made despite the fact that Muammar al-Quadhafi remains the country's leader. It was under his despotic government that the US broke ties with Libya in 1980 after Quadhafi ordered hit squads to eliminate Libyan dissidents who had fled the country and were living abroad. Soon after, in 1986, a bomb exploded in a Berlin nightclub killing 3 and wounding 200, an act widely attributed to Libyan-sponsored terrorism. In response, Reagan bombed the town of Libyan Benghazi and several military outposts.
The conundrum exists not in America's decision to get friendly with Libya once again, but that the decision clearly violates the administration's policy of dealing with known terrorist states. And just when they were convinced Quadhafi had changed, he gave this statement during an interview on al-Jazeera TV on April 10:
"We have fifty million Muslims in Europe. There are signs that Allah will grant Islam victory in Europe - without swords, without guns, without conquests. The fifty million Muslims of Europe will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades. Europe is in a predicament, and so is America. They should agree to become Islamic in the course of time, or else declare war on the Muslims." (interview on Al-Jazeera TV. Qatar - April 10, 2006)"
What is surprising is that this decision was made despite the fact that Muammar al-Quadhafi remains the country's leader. It was under his despotic government that the US broke ties with Libya in 1980 after Quadhafi ordered hit squads to eliminate Libyan dissidents who had fled the country and were living abroad. Soon after, in 1986, a bomb exploded in a Berlin nightclub killing 3 and wounding 200, an act widely attributed to Libyan-sponsored terrorism. In response, Reagan bombed the town of Libyan Benghazi and several military outposts.
The conundrum exists not in America's decision to get friendly with Libya once again, but that the decision clearly violates the administration's policy of dealing with known terrorist states. And just when they were convinced Quadhafi had changed, he gave this statement during an interview on al-Jazeera TV on April 10:
"We have fifty million Muslims in Europe. There are signs that Allah will grant Islam victory in Europe - without swords, without guns, without conquests. The fifty million Muslims of Europe will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades. Europe is in a predicament, and so is America. They should agree to become Islamic in the course of time, or else declare war on the Muslims." (interview on Al-Jazeera TV. Qatar - April 10, 2006)"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)