Truthfully Gruff, if the cost of wine, which is magnanimous compared to fuel, keeps going up I think I might just start my own home grown sugar cane distillery. People bitch about a gallon of gas but spend 10 times that just on ounces of alcohol.
What's wrong with the picture? Is it that we don't have to buy alcohol everyday to push our machines down the road? On Jul 6, 7:51 pm, gruff <[email protected]> wrote: > There are more than 200 deepwater oil rigs working around the globe, > 20% of which are in the Gulf of Mexico. > > On Jul 6, 2:33 pm, rigsy03 <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Brazil is also into deepwater oil drilling- big > > time.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/latin_america/july-dec10/brazil_07-01.... > > > On Jul 5, 9:39 pm, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > I remember reading something about Brazil being the leader in ethanol > > > production from sugar cane resource. Their bio-fuel economy has been > > > well established and Brazilians are paying a fraction of what we pay > > > for gas. The climate of course is conducive to sugar cane production > > > and therefore they have a distinct advantage over us in producing > > > fuel. I don't see that we would be able to compete with corn because > > > it just doesn't have a comparable production capability as sugar > > > cane. Besides that I don't think we have an arable land mass large > > > enough to produce the needed sugar cane; basically we'd be confined to > > > the southern belt states. > > > > On Jul 5, 9:03 pm, gruff <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > I'm not discounting the part others including ourselves have played in > > > > getting us into this well-oiled corner we find ourselves backed into. > > > > There's not a one anywhere who's free of oiled guilt. > > > > > Compared to oil, ethanol's problems are a trifle. There is massive > > > > private & corporate research being conducted around the nation into > > > > the direct production of ethanol using algae and the sun (no need for > > > > distilling -- the algae actually produce ethanol in this process). > > > > > The problem we ran into with ethanol was not energy's fault. It was > > > > that the government and industry glommed onto the most handy grain to > > > > distill into ethanol: corn -- we grow thousands of square miles of > > > > it. As you recall, this drove the price of bread, meat and other > > > > foods very high. If the industry demands ethanol from vegetable > > > > products, sugar cane is far more productive per acre and doesn't > > > > affect the rest of our food prices so much. > > > > > On Jul 5, 1:43 am, rigsy03 <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > Manufacturers and consumers have played their role as well. Oil is > > > > > still a critical product. Ethanol and other alternatives have their > > > > > own sets of problems.//Consider a breakdown of the electrical grid or > > > > > water purity as future shocks.//There is enough blame to go around for > > > > > the degradation of the environment beyond BP. > > > > > > On Jul 4, 11:33 pm, gruff <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > The lunacy lies in big oil's complete lack of regard for the > > > > > > environment and complete capitulation to record profits at any cost > > > > > > to > > > > > > others. > > > > > > > I was flabbergasted when BP first started trying to fix the Gulf > > > > > > leak. Every time something failed their excuse was that they had > > > > > > never done that in water this deep before. That they had begun deep > > > > > > water drilling in such a confined area as the Gulf apparently > > > > > > without > > > > > > knowing what they were doing or how to do it seems beyond absurd. > > > > > > It > > > > > > seems pure insanity. > > > > > > > However, the Gulf is far from the largest oil spill in the world. > > > > > > Not > > > > > > counting Deepwater Horizon, the ten largest oil spills in the world > > > > > > are as follows: > > > > > > > 1. Kuwait - 1991 - 520 million gallons. Iraqi forces opened the > > > > > > valves of several oil tankers in order to slow the invasion of > > > > > > American troops. The oil slick was four inches thick and covered > > > > > > 4000 > > > > > > square miles of ocean. > > > > > > > 2. Mexico - 1980 - 100 million gallons. An accident in an oil > > > > > > well > > > > > > caused an explosion which then caused the well to collapse. The well > > > > > > remained open, spilling 30,000 gallons a day into the ocean for a > > > > > > full > > > > > > year. > > > > > > > 3. Trinidad and Tobago - 1979 - 90 million. During a tropical > > > > > > storm off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago, a Greek oil tanker > > > > > > collided with another ship, and lost nearly its entire cargo. > > > > > > > 4. Russia - 1994 - 84 million gallons. A broken pipeline in > > > > > > Russia > > > > > > leaked for eight months before it was noticed and repaired. > > > > > > > 5. Persian Gulf - 1983 - 80 million gallons. A tanker collided > > > > > > with a drilling platform which, eventually, collapsed into the sea. > > > > > > The well continued to spill oil into the ocean for seven months > > > > > > before > > > > > > it was repaired. > > > > > > > 6. South Africa - 1983 - 79 million gallons. A tanker cought > > > > > > fire > > > > > > and was abandoned before sinking 25 miles off the coast of Saldanha > > > > > > Bay. > > > > > > > 7. France - 1978 - 69 million gallons. A tanker's rudder was > > > > > > broken in a severe storm, despite several ships responding to its > > > > > > distress call, the ship ran aground and broke in two. It's entire > > > > > > payload was dumped into the English Channel. > > > > > > > 8. Angola - 1991 - more than 51 million gallons. The tanker > > > > > > expolded, exact quantity of spill unknown > > > > > > > 9. Italy - 1991 - 45 million gallons. The tanker exploded and > > > > > > sank > > > > > > off the coast of Italy and continued leaking it's oil into the ocean > > > > > > for 12 years. > > > > > > > 10. Odyssey Oil Spill - 1988 - 40 million gallons. 700 nautical > > > > > > miles off the cost of Nova Scotia. > > > > > > > Which puts the Deepwater Horizon spill between number four and five > > > > > > at > > > > > > the present time. The total amount of oil spilled just in the ten > > > > > > largest is more than a BILLION gallons of oil between 1978 and 1991 > > > > > > dumped into the oceans. I'm not being an apologist for BP but just > > > > > > trying to put 84 million gallons in perspective. It's a horrific > > > > > > disaster, no doubt. But we will get past it and recover from it. > > > > > > > I was also taken aback by the rest of big oil's attitude. Each said > > > > > > they'd never have done it the way BP did it yet they are all > > > > > > conducting deepwater drilling and even more dangerous drilling in > > > > > > highly sensitive areas in much the same way BP conducts its drilling > > > > > > operations. Full speed ahead and damn the consequences. > > > > > > > It seems to me the best answer is to get our well-oiled asses out of > > > > > > oil as fast as we can. Like the ethanol ads say, 100 million > > > > > > gallons > > > > > > and no one injured, none spilled and the environment is cleaner for > > > > > > it. > > > > > > > /e- Hide quoted text - > > > > - Show quoted text -
