Clipmarks | egoldstein's 'oil' clips

The key to oil independence is a new electrical grid

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:17:49 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: It seems that with alternative sources of energy, such as wind and solar, the United States has the potential means to substantially reduce our dependence on oil - especially once plug-in cars are on the market.

But until we substantially upgrade our nation's electrical grid with modern technology that will enable the energy created by these sources to be transmitted intelligently around the county, their impact will be limited.

It's going to take a greater commitment from Congress to jump start this. Making it happen will provide a huge boost to our economy, environment and political leverage with the Middle East, Russia, Venezuela and more.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The dirty secret of clean energy is that while generating it is getting easier, moving it to market is not.

The grid today, according to experts, is a system conceived 100 years ago to let utilities prop each other up, reducing blackouts and sharing power in small regions. It resembles a network of streets, avenues and country roads.

“We need an interstate transmission superhighway system,” said Suedeen G. Kelly, a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

“The windiest sites have not been built, because there is no way to move that electricity from there to the load centers,” he said.

Tags: alternative energy, grid, electricity, wind, solar

Alternative energy needs help from Congress

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:12:37 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: It's crazy to me to see the Bush administration and many members of Congress focusing on drilling for oil with such passion, yet you hear next to nothing from them about investing whatever resources are necessary to jump start a brand new industry that could significantly lessen our dependence on oil.

Seeing what Russia is doing in Georgia should make the U.S. government's desire to aid the development of alternative sources such as solar and wind even that much greater.

Clip Source: www.forbes.com

Key to that mission: a more vigorous role for the U.S. government. "There is no way that we can change the energy resources in our society without real leadership from the government," says van Mierlo. "The current administration, it's sad to say, has not provided that leadership."

Tags: alternative energy, solar, wind, congress, oil

Obama's tire pressure remark - fact vs fiction

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:07:28 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: McCain has responded to Obama's suggestion that we better maintain our cars in ways that promote fuel efficiency with childish (yet somehow effective) criticism.

The amazing thing these days is that facts don't seem to matter. McCain is jumping on Obama with lies and accusations that, in my opinion, discredit his own reputation for running clean, dignified campaigns.

Clip Source: www.time.com

The Bush administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 barrels per day by 2030. We use about 20 million barrels per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage by 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone else did, we could reduce demand several percentage points immediately. In other words: Obama is right.

Tags: politics, alternative energy, oil, obama, mccain

A compromise? Drilling for alternative energy tax credits

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:10:21 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: Seems like an interesting possibility here. Give the Republicans what they want (more drilling) in exchange for what the Democrats want (extension of tax credits for wind, solar, etc.). You would think that this combination would show that the U.S. government is truly committed to doing whatever it takes to bring down our reliance on foreign oil.

Clip Source: ap.google.com

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., offered to take up four Republican proposals as part of the oil market speculation measure, including a GOP drilling provision. Republicans first rejected the overture, but on Wednesday said they wanted to accept the offer.

But by then, Reid said he did not want to discuss the amendments any longer until Republicans agreed on a compromise on extending a variety of tax credits for wind, solar and other alternative energy programs. An attempt to advance the tax extensions bill failed Wednesday, 51-43, as Democrats fell nine votes short of getting the 60 needed to overcome a GOP filibuster.

Tags: alternative energy, oil, drilling, wind, solar, congress, tax credits

The Pickens Plan

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:55:53 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: Could this man single-handedly lift the United States out its dependence on oil and inspire the type of commitment and innovation needed to make it happen? I know that sounds crazy, but this type of high profile exposure is absolutely invaluable to the birth of a new industry.

Like going to the moon in the 60s, it's time to devote whatever resources are needed to enter the alternative energy era.

Clip Source: www.pickensplan.com

America is in a hole and it's getting deeper every day. We import 70% of our oil at a cost of $700 billion a year - four times the annual cost of the Iraq war.

I've been an oil man all my life, but this is one emergency we can't drill our way out of. But if we create a new renewable energy network, we can break our addiction to foreign oil.

On January 20, 2009, a new President gets sworn in. If we're organized, we can convince Congress to make major changes towards cleaner, cheaper and domestic energy resources.

Tags: boone pickens, oil, alternative enegy, wind, solar

Solar powered Prius!!

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:55:31 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: Now this is exciting news! This type of innovation is exactly what the world needs to help us lose our dependency on oil. It is also the type of progress that i believe will spur the economy out of its very nasty funk.

Clip Source: www.marketwatch.com

The move will make Toyota the first major automaker to install a popular model with solar panels. The redesigned Prius will have solar panels on the roof, which will supply part of the two to five kilowatts needed to power the air-conditioning unit, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Tags: alternative energy, oil, prius, solar

Bush's attempt to keep us hooked on oil

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:09:05 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: Man, Tom Friedman just nails it. This is exactly what the Bush administration is trying to do and it scares the heck out of me. I strongly suggest that you click the source link to read the entire article.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Two years ago, President Bush declared that America was “addicted to oil,” and, by gosh, he was going to do something about it. Well, now he has. Now we have the new Bush energy plan: “Get more addicted to oil.”

Actually, it’s more sophisticated than that: Get Saudi Arabia, our chief oil pusher, to up our dosage for a little while and bring down the oil price just enough so the renewable energy alternatives can’t totally take off. Then try to strong arm Congress into lifting the ban on drilling offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

It is hard for me to find the words to express what a massive, fraudulent, pathetic excuse for an energy policy this is. But it gets better. The president actually had the gall to set a deadline for this drug deal:

Tags: bush, oil, alternative energy, politics

Why we need high oil prices

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:11:27 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: I know this sounds crazy, but i honestly believe that high oil prices in the short term (1-5 years) is a very good thing if it forces us to find alternatives. I am definitely concerned that if oil prices drop temporarily, the momentum behind alternatives such as wind and solar will die off - leaving us exactly where we are today - way too dependent on oil and way to harmful to our environment.

Clip Source: www.ft.com

If the Democratic party were correct about speculation and gouging, it should be demanding a Nobel Prize for futures traders and oil titans. They have done more for the planet than Al Gore, making the pump price of petrol so unthinkably expensive (almost half as dear as in Europe!) that the country has started to economise. Americans are driving less and buying smaller cars.

If ever there were a case for the maxim, get prices right, this is it. The way to curb carbon emissions is to add the environmental cost of carbon to the price of energy. The current oil price offers a good opportunity: when it falls (as it probably will) a carbon tax could be used to set a floor, making the transition to correctly priced energy much easier.

Tags: alternative energy, oil, politics

Filling up your car with ELECTRICITY!!

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:10:10 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: When we can fill up our cars with electricity instead of gasoline - and generate electricity through wind and solar power - and transmit more electricity over the grid - we will have truly changed global dynamics.

The amazing thing is that it may not be more than a few years away! Any additional help we can get from Washington will make a huge difference. I hope to see this be a central issue in the upcoming election.

Clip Source: www.marketwatch.com

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Get your sockets ready -- plug-in electric cars are coming soon to a garage near you, according to car makers and power company officials who met in the nation's capitol last week to discuss the technology's future.

Backers point out that electricity is significantly cheaper than oil right now and that a surge in electric-powered cars could reduce national oil consumption by millions of barrels a day while curbing tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases.

For auto makers 2010 has become the goal for getting plug-in hybrid vehicles into consumers' hands

The power grid will also need work to sustain the additional demand for electricity plug-ins will generate.

Tags: alternative energy, plug-ins, cars, oil, batteries

Solar power from space and global domination

Sat, 31 May 2008 04:47:38 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: Could solar satellites in space prove to be an alternative to oil? I don't know, but it sure is going to be interesting to find out.

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

"The country that takes the lead on space solar power will be the energy-exporting country for the entire planet for the next few hundred years," Miller said.

Russia, China, the European Union and India, according to the Pentagon report, are interested in the concept. And Japan, which has been pouring millions of dollars into space power studies for decades, is working toward testing a small-scale demonstration in the near future.

"We could see the first operational power satellite in about the 2020 time frame if we act now," he said.

Tags: solar, space, alternative energy, oil

Video of Maxine Waters threatening to socialize oil

Wed, 28 May 2008 23:23:09 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: What an insane, stupid comment. I just can't believe she said this...scary!!

Thanks to willhelm for posting the original clip about this here http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/F1762764-9B5B-4F50-9C31-20602A85332C/. wanted to clip the actual video because i honestly couldn't believe it until i saw it.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: oil, government

Tesla Motors sells out first 100 cars

Sat, 24 May 2008 15:05:19 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: Innovation and capitalism are amazing forces in dealing with global dynamics. We've got sky high oil prices, instability in the region that oil comes from and a global warming threat that many attribute to our use of fossil fuels. So what do we do? We innovate....this is just the beginning!!

Clip Source: www.engadget.com

Less than a month after this extra-green automobile hit the pre-order market, all 100 that were offered up are now claimed.

we've heard that both of Google's co-founders, as well as eBay's Jeff Skoll, have thrown down for the seemingly coveted ride.

Tags: alternative energy, tesla, batteries, electric car

House of Representatives taxes Big Oil to subsidize solar and wind!

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:12:58 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: This is a huge event!!!! Man, if the Senate passes this i can't wait to see Bush stand and up and veto it. Scary thing is that he probably will...but at least he'd have to be on the record as standing in the way of our adoption of non-oil based energy.

Clip Source: biz.yahoo.com

The House approved $18 billion in new taxes on the largest oil companies Wednesday as Democrats cited record oil prices and rising gasoline costs in a time of economic troubles.

The money collected over 10 years would provide tax breaks for wind, solar and other alternative energy sources and for energy conservation. The legislation, approved 236-182, would cost the five largest oil companies an average of $1.8 billion a year over that period, according an analysis by the House Ways and Means Committee. Those companies earned $123 billion last year.

Tags: alternative energy, oil, tax, wind, solar, politics

Exporting wind

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 00:41:55 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: I apologize for posting so many clips about wind power lately, but i've been doing a lot of reading about it and keep coming across bits of information that simply amaze me. The idea that Oklahoma's number one export can soon be wind is fascinating.

When you think about it, the entire balance of power in the world has largely been shaped by access to oil. Now we can just import/export wind to create power. Amazing how massive the implications of this could be!

Clip Source: newsok.com

Power officials expect Oklahoma will be a leading exporter of wind-generated energy by 2024.

Wind soon could be Oklahoma's most valuable export, Commissioners Jim Roth and Jeff Cloud said after the meeting.

Tags: wind power, alternative energy, oklahoma, oil

U.S. waits for others to save us from oil dependence

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:05:42 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: As long as this remains the case i will remain skeptical that the U.S. government truly wants to end our dependence on oil. That reality basically means that the needs of lobbyists (Big Oil) are considerably more important than the needs of the people. That depresses me a lot!

Clip Source: www.usatoday.com

Federal subsidies in the USA expire this year, and political wrangling over extending them is frightening investors, Hoopes says. If the price of oil fell below $60 a barrel, that may take the political pressure off Washington to bankroll alternative sources of energy such as solar,

while U.S. solar subsidies may be in question, the rest of the world is leading in solar anyway, Carboy says. The USA is only about 10% of the global market for solar, he says.

Germany, Spain, Greece and Portugal remain strongly committed to provide incentives for solar

Tags: alternative energy, oil, politics, wind, solar