Here’s a link relating to oil wars that I think is very thought provking (Iran hasn’t yet started trading oil in Euros to my knowledge but they are still planning to do so):
Petrodollar Warfare

Here’s one that gives some reaons why petrodollar recycling is important to keeping the US economy alive, with a good example:
“Japan needs to import oil for domestic use. To do so it must first acquire dollars, as the dollar is the only currency in which oil can be traded. To acquire these dollars, Japan must sell goods and services to the U.S. economy. The Japanese build a Honda to sell to the U.S. The U.S. federal reserve prints a certain amount of dollars and gives these to the Japanese in exchange for the Honda. The Japanese buy oil from Saudi Arabia using these dollars. The Saudis take the dollars and reinvest them in the Federal Reserve Bank of the U.S., and from then on they will only be used as a reserve currency. Therefore, all the U.S. had to do to acquire a Honda, was to print dollars. In essence, it has its very own money tree. The result of this is that the total debt of the United States is somewhere in the region of $8.4 trillion and increasing by $80 million per hour.”
Petrodollar Recycling

The Carlyle Group (sp?), a super mighty private equity pool, is currently buying up semiconductor makers. Semiconductors are the materials that make solar panels. Is this a coincidence?

Bike Riding…

Maybe people will ride their bikes more. I am not saying that will solve the whole problem, but it is one step that could, believe it or not, help in some important ways. Many trips that people take today in their cars are relatively shot (5 miles or less from home) and they are driving alone in their cars. You can go five miles in a bike pretty quickly. Even a trip of 10-15 miles in heavy traffic is pretty slow in a car, simply because there are so many cars on the road.

In Holland about 25% of people use their bikes for regular commuting, and there are bike trails EVERYWHERE in the country.

More bike riding would reduce oil use, pollution, and traffic congestion, aside from having positive benefits for the health of individuals. Obesity is a growing problem (pardon the pun) especially among the young.

I’m amazed that over the last 20 years or so our average fuel economy has declined. This isn’t a plot on the part of oil companies or car companies. It’s what people want.

Ride their bikes? Are you kidding? People drive to get accross the shopping center — like from Pier 1 to Barnes & Noble accross the way.

Yes, in Holland people ride their bikes. The city is small and you can get accross town in no time. The Dutch also live in apartments, not houses.

It’s too bad because San Diego would be a great bike city only if the urban planning permitted it.

I hate to say it but I can’t imagine an American mother biking to go grocery shopping. How would she get all the giant packages home? If you travel overseas, you can always tell the American tourists by the giant drink bottles they carry with them.

I heard a recent article on NPR that talked about the enormous investment in alternative fuels taking place. A good chunk of the money that had been pouring into the high tech sector in the decade from about 93 to 03, has moved into alternative fuels.

There is a patent on a car engine that burns hay, invented by some engineers in farmland. Their biggest concern for mass production is how to distribute the fuel to drivers.

Currently there is also in existence right now, a car that runs on water. It used the H in H2O, and it’s only emission is water, which drips from the tailpipe. It’s MPG on water is multiples ahead of fossil fuel engines. Refueling is as simple as pouring an 8oz bottle of water into a spout inside the cabin – you could travel across the country without ever exiting the car. Water is available anywhere. It’s patent owner is in talks with the major manufacturers to mass produce it, but that’s a way off in the future.

According to the article, there are no less than 20 different continuously reproducable fuels being tested for automobile engines, with various patents on some. Mass production and availability to the public is a ways off, but they should be here in time for when the last drop of oil is pumped from the ground. Obviously the closer we get to outrageous (unmanagable) oil prices, the more the emphasis on alternative fuels will grow. Gas-Electic Hybrids already crowd the streets and that trent will continuue. Future automobiles will most likely be “Water-Electic Hybrids” or some thing similar.

The main point is, we’re already addressing a solution to the impending oil crunch, and it won’t be bicycles. We’ll still have our monsterous SUVs, you just might have to shovel a bail of hay into them to get to the mall:)

I’ll grant that many “alternative” fuels do have potential, although most aren’t anywhere near being cost effective.

The United States has vast quantities of Oil Shale deposits. The extraction process is expensive, but if oil gets up to $100/barrel, it would become cost-effective. My point on this is that the rising cost of energy is likely to be incremental rather than sudden, as there are sources that can pick up the slack as the price of energy rises, at least in the short term.

I’m extremely skeptical of the “car that runs on water”. Somewhere you need a chemical reaction that gives off energy, usually by breaking bonds. My guess is they’d be trying to create Hydrogen gas (H2) and then break the hydrogen-hydrogen bond (which gives off energy – hydrogen gas’s flammability is why the Hindenburg exploded). But you’d have to put energy into the system to turn the water into hydrogen gas.

Also, it’s not like water is an unlimited resource… remember, we have a SHORTAGE of water here in Southern California.