Posted on 12/18/2003 1:51:33 PM PST by Willie Green
I'm not referring to 2000 data, I'm referring to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report, published today
I just did the calculation. Official result is 33.9% now
or better said, considering the title of this thread : 66.1%
Now note this is based on official oil imports of 9,592 bpd ...
LOL! I'm glad I came back to look at the full thread!
When I saw the 33.9 on the "My Comments" page, I knew something HAD to be wrong!
WE need to drill for our own oil.
Low prices
Any analysis of trends that doesn't take prices into account won't work. There has been underinvestment in US production for almost two decades because of low prices. This will change I think - there is pressure on current supplies due to continuing increases in third world demand.
Irrelevant. Oil is a fungible commodity. We consume more than we produce at current market prices. Nothing can be done about that.
My solution is nukes. Many many nukes. One proven, simple design everywhere. If the greens protest, cut off their electricity and heat.
Not true.
Crude oil is produced in a widely complex variety of grades ranging from "light" to "heavy" and "sweet" to "sour" (depending on sulfur content.) In turn, this dictates a wide variety of refinery designs to produce the myriad distillates and petro-chemicals we consume. Just because these technical details are beyond the training of average citizens is no reason to insult them with the oversimplistic claim that "oil is a fungible commodity".
My solution is nukes. Many many nukes. One proven, simple design everywhere.
I agree that we need to build more nukes.
But once again you oversimplify the solution.
There certainly may be only a few designs that predominate for the bulk of our electrical generating capacity. (At least until the next generation of reactors are developed). But there is also a need for other reactor designs to reprocess and recycle nuclear fuel as well as to dispose of nuclear wastes.
Good old Jimmuh Carter -- the peanut -- He predicted the world would be out of oil, all gone, kaput, by the year 2,000.
Who's doing the insulting, Willie? Google up "oil fungible commodity" and see who agrees with me. Just because it comes in different grades does not bar it from being fungible within those grades. I'm not sure you even understand the term fungible.
But once again you oversimplify the solution. There certainly may be only a few designs that predominate for the bulk of our electrical generating capacity. (At least until the next generation of reactors are developed). But there is also a need for other reactor designs to reprocess and recycle nuclear fuel as well as to dispose of nuclear wastes.
For heaven's sake, Willie, you're laying on the pedantry pretty thick. This post was not intended to be a dissertation or even a feature article on oil or nuclear power.
I'm talking about unifying the design of nuclear power generating reactors so that parts and expertise are more unified and more portable. Implying that such a statement is meant to prohibit reprocessing and disposal is disingenuous sophistry.
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