[quote=spdrun]Oil as energy is so last century. We should be moving to nuclear, hydro, and renewables for energy, not digging for dead dinos.
Besides, whether they admit it or not Keystone XL is primarily an EXPORT pipeline. I mean — why build it from Canada to the Gulf?
Anyway, I suspect that this will be revisited after the new Congresspeople are seated in 2015.[/quote]
You do realize that most of the US refining facilities reside near the gulf. Want to know why? Well those big oil tankers that import our oil typically are unloaded in the gulf and it makes a lot of sense to have your refineries close to your crude import facilities. Could it be used for export, yeah sure, but that’s not why they want to transport it to the gulf.
Nuclear is the only other real option and most that oppose Keystone oppose Nuclear as well. We should be developing Thorium Nuclear but we aren’t because that would take leadership and innovation from Washington that isn’t there.
The problem is most people don’t have the education and knowledge to make an informed decision of energy technology. Most people don’t under thermodynamics. A gallon of gasoline is relatively stable, lightweight and has quite a bit of energy content. No lithium ion battery is even close in terms of energy density. Without running the math I don’t know that’s it’s thermodynamically possible to get 50 mpg in a 3000+ lb vehicle. Can we even build an engine that is that much more efficient.
If we convert to an electric vehicle fleet where does the electricity come from. Are we going to cover the Mohave desert with solar thermal farms? Are we going to build hundreds of new Natural Gas power stations? Are we going to build new nuclear power stations? That stuff needs to be in the works soon if we’re actually going to get there in the next 10 years and I don’t see it.
