Each day, the United States is responsible
for 25% of the world’s oil consumption,
despite holding only 5% of the world’s
population. With the emergence of other industrial
nations such as China and India, the oil extraction
rate is reaching nearly 1,000 barrels per second.
The unprecedented rate at which this natural
resource is being used has lead many of our
prominent energy analysts to suggest that global
oil production may be reaching a peak. Although
some believe that America’s energy future
can be sustained by oil shale/sand, ANWR or
new continental shelf discoveries, there is
an increasing consensus in the scientific community
that these sources would be incredibly difficult
to exploit and would require decades of lead
time. It should also be remembered that some
analysts fail to consider probable extraction
rates in their calculations, relying only upon
known recoverable reserves.
One needs only to look at the headlines to
know that the issue of sustainable future energy
is an issue of importance to all of us. Although
we may face skyrocketing energy costs and dwindling
oil prospects, we are fortunate to possess a
limitless supply of ideas for the future of
energy, and the future of America. Our site
was developed in an effort to bring these ideas
together, to learn about them, to discuss them,
and to expand upon them.
Crude
Impact is an award-winning documentary
film which Chris Vernon of TheOilDrum.com
called " a terrific film... the best
documentary I have seen on the subject."
This feature film explores the interconnection
between human domination of the planet,
and the discovery and use of oil.
Crude
Impact has been an official selection
at over thirty film festivals around
the world and has won numerous awards.
The film enjoyed a limited theatrical
release in the United States and Canada
and has been broadcast on television
in many countries around the world.
Crude Impact has been translated in
to French, Spanish and Czech, and will
soon be translated in to Turkish and
Finnish.
Crude Impact was awarded the Best Environmental
Feature Film at the 3rd Annual Artivist
Film Festival in Los Angeles. The film
screened at the famous Egyptian Theater
on Hollywood Boulevard.
"The concern about peak oil is behind us,"
chief executive Khalid al-Falih told a session on
energy supplies at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The peak oil theory that oil supply is at or near
its peak gained currency when prices zoomed to a record
of nearly $150 a barrel in 2008. The issue remains
a concern for many in the industry. (read
more)
Will technology leapfrog depletion and save drivers
from the cost of triple-digit oil? Every auto producer
in the world has an electric car in the works; General
Motors, of course, will start producing its Volt later
this year. But in actuality, the car of the future
is really a throwback to the past. In 1899, an electric
car was clocked going over 60 miles an hour. And a
little over a decade later, a Detroit Electric managed
to travel 211 miles on a single charge (by comparison,
General Motors’ Volt will go just 40 miles on
a single charge before its back-up gasoline engine
kicks in.) (read
more)
America, prepare to pay $3 a gallon for gasoline
again. Many energy experts expect gasoline prices
to return to $3 a gallon, saying gas prices will rise
this year with oil prices. Oil prices have been recovering
since the U.S. economy crashed in 2008. Energy experts
say gas prices are bound to hit that threshold sometime
this year as oil prices rise. But please spare the
filling station manager your wrath. He's not the reason
that pump prices across the country are rising.
(read
more)
WASHINGTON — Wind could replace coal and natural
gas for 20 to 30 percent of the electricity used in
the eastern two-thirds of the United States by 2024,
according to a study released Wednesday by the Energy
Department.But doing so would require a reorganization
of the power grid and a significant increase in costs.
And it would have only a modest impact on cutting
emissions linked to global warming, the study found.
(read
more)
Reputed companies are always conscious about their
brand image and what a great way to build great brand
by taking clean and green route! Bell Lab is the division
of the Alcatel-Lucent. Currently Alcatel-Lucent is
trying to invest in their communications networks
to make it 1,000 times more energy efficient. They
have launched a five year program known as “Green
Touch.” Members affiliated with the Green Touch
are AT&T, and China Mobile from industry; MIT
and Stanford University from the academic world; and
The French National Institute for Research in Computer
Science and Control from government. Industrial laboratory
members are Bell Labs, the Samsung Advanced Institute
of Technology and Freescale Semiconductor. The project
has received the nods of ascent from United States
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and the British, French,
South Korean and Portuguese governments. (read
more)
