Gasoline $3.00 a gallon...how soon ???

MikePA · Mar 9, 2005

I heard on the news gas prices could be $3.00 a gallon this summer. 
IMO, standard media story, along with...

1. People driving up to the post office right before midnight on April 15th.
2. Reporters out in the snow reporting that it's still snowing and it's slippery, don't go out if you don't have to.
3. Rising heating oil prices in the fall.
4. Shortage of heating oil at the beginning of winter.
5. Possible brown/black outs in the summer.

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

milkman · Mar 9, 2005

Gasoline $3.00 a gallon

Just S.O.P. keep them fearful, divert attention. It's what is goings on behind the smoke screen that scares me to death.

ronjhall · Mar 9, 2005

Anybody in the area want to go through a real powerplant? Just PM me, I'll give you a one on one tour. 
John
You have a PM.

AutoUnionTypeC · Mar 9, 2005

( Anybody in the area want to go through a real powerplant? Just PM me, I'll give you a one on one tour. 
John
You have a PM. )

Ron, enjoy your tour!! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif If you've never been in a powerhouse before you will no doubt be very impressed.
Regards, J

AutoUnionTypeC · Mar 9, 2005

( I'm at the DTE Monroe Power Plant. [My plants bigger than yours]) LMAO...... indeed it is. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif But you’re talking to a fellow who only six years ago walked out of the Stone Age. Before I came to my present plant (AES Cayuga) I worked in a 70MW(gross) stoker plant. /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif I can hear the laughter from here, but you know what? I give just about anything to fire that old plant again. An operator had much more influence on the process; it is a much art as science to fire a stoker. Plus we fired some pretty cool alternate fuels.......coal tar soil, woodchips and tires. Good luck with your new scrubbers. Regards, J

johnday · Mar 10, 2005

Autounion; I used to work in an old papermill powerhouse that Detroit Rotostrokers. Yeah, they're pretty neat. Also VERY labor intensive. We greased these things everyday. Now we have 7 B&W roller mills that have 50 ton an hour capacity each on all of our four units. !,000,000 shaft horsepower on each mainunit turbine, and two boiler feed pumps on each unit, each about 25,000 HP. Those also pump feedwater at around 4200 psi. Looking back at what I just posted, it still impresses me after 27 years. I guess any "normal" person would wonder what the h*$^ he was doing there!! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

L3650 · Mar 10, 2005

Alternate fuels and alternate technology. What happened to fuel cells? About five years ago, that was all the talk. I don't know the exact science, but the a chemical reaction caused an electric current and the the only by products were water and heat. City buses getting 60 mpg. Every home with their own power plant - no power grids (national security feature). No more internal combustion - just the silent hum of electrical motors.

What about gasification of coal? This technology has been around since WWII. I believe the USA has about 25% of the worlds coal supply. At what price does this process become economical?

I understand the dependence of fossil fuels will come to an end when these finite resources are gone. But somewhere the geniuses are working on something. I don't think we want to go back to donkey carts.

OkeeDon · Mar 10, 2005

Everything was fine as long as it was just us exploiting our power and using the majority of the world's resources. Now that some other large countries are beginning to have an emerging economy, demand is leaping exponentially. We all know, for example, that China is using more steel, more petroleum, more wood, more of just about everything -- and it's driving our prices up, basic law of supply and demand, Obviously, those finite resources are not going to last as long as we thought they would.

Yes, I bet there are geniuses working on a resolution. What I worry about is that the solution may not -- and, in fact, will likely not -- come from us. Brazil, for example is way ahead of us in the use of alternative fuels. What I worry about is that when the solution comes, the genius nation that spawns it will be the NEXT superpower, and we will become yet another has-been on the world stage.

The reason I worry about that is precisely because there IS no demand from our contrymen for fuel efficient solutions. It seems like the BEST solution we have is to open up a precious national resource like the Alaskan wilderness to exploitation. And, for what? Once the oil is gone, will the wilderness return? I don't think so. That's pitiful.

It is our DUTY to DEMAND alternative fuels, alternative technologies or whatever that genius solution is going to be, before somebody from China or India comes up with it. In my opinion, it's pretty darn short-sighted to demand more power, more room, more convenience and more luxury in the face of those finite resources. I'm not saying we have to sacrifice everything -- I wouldn't want those donkey carts either, and I'll still have my tow vehicle and a 5th wheel RV. But I won't drive it every day, and when I do drive it, it will get better mileage than the motor home I was planning to get.

DaNag · Mar 11, 2005

That's a passionate bit of words there, Don...words I don't completely disagree with. Unfortunately, history has proven things won't likely go as you hope. Massive change in this country rarely happens for altruistic reasons...more often, it happens due to good old greed and money.

Here's my prediction...

There will be no uprising from the masses, demanding alternative fuels or energy, simply for the sake of saving us from environmental damage.

Likewise, there will be no demand that causes any change in our energy policy, simply to keep another country from being the leader or provider in whatever future technology is developed. Our current situation is proof positive...we import the vast majority of our oil.

What will change the tide is simple economics. As pathetic as one may think it is, we as a country, are primarily driven by our pocketbooks. Once alternative fuels and vehicles become cheaper than their fossil fuel counterparts, the rush will be on.

So in the long run, it's probably a good thing China and India are squeezing the supply chain, and driving prices through the roof. The higher the prices go, the more economic incentive there is for US companies to discover and provide alternatives.

_RaT_ · Mar 11, 2005

Head, nail, you hit it! $3 a gallon won't be nearly the figure that changes our driving habits substantially either. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif