Is America too dependent on oil?

[rickc]

According to Mr Google, 83% of Americans live in urban areas. So, while true that mass transport isn't practical for some, the sparsely populated rural areas are not an excuse to do nothing in the urban areas.

Dude all the cities have bus lines. Haven't you ever used the mass transit system.

In Atlanta it's called MARTA. The rednecks have a nickname for it.

 

[ALiberalModerate]

Same problem exists. Hybrids have two problems - scarcity of fuel and scarcity of electricity.

I am not sure you know what you are talking about there. I drive a Toyota Prius. I get between 40 mpg and 75 mpg or so depending on the trip, temperatures outside, wind and so on. Average around 50 to 55 mpg though. I never plug it in, because you don't plug it in. It charges the battery from excess energy when the engine is running, you are going downhill, or when you apply your brakes.

 

[Jason Warfield]

Given that we have tech that can wean off of oil, I see no reason to continue to cater Tom oil.

Now, this is not to say that oil doesn’t have a place, it’s just that it should be far less important than it is. And it will take some time to wean off of it…but there is really no point to it.

 

[Gimmesometruth]

scarcity of electricity.

 

[Schism]

We have viable alternatives to use much less of it.

Back up your vague claim.

Point to those energy fields, show me how many gigawatts they're producing per day, and which cities are being powered at what percentage of their entire consumption.

Because I regularly drive through huge solar and wind farms, and the techs tell me they don't produce much yet.

 

[The Mark]

That's not REAL electricity, you can only get REAL electricity by burning the dirtiest fuel possible to create heat, use that heat to turn water into steam, and then use that steam to drive a turbine.

So...coal?

We need to do some research to find a fuel that pollutes more. Maybe burning plastic and releasing the results directly into the atmosphere.

 

[Ishm]

Dude all the cities have bus lines. Haven't you ever used the mass transit system.

In Atlanta it's called MARTA. The rednecks have a nickname for it.

It's one thing to have a system. Often another thing to get people out of their cars in the volumes that could really make a difference.

 

[Gimmesometruth]

That's not REAL electricity, you can only get REAL electricity by burning the dirtiest fuel possible to create heat, use that heat to turn water into steam, and then use that steam to drive a turbine.

So...coal?

We need to do some research to find a fuel that pollutes more. Maybe burning plastic and releasing the results directly into the atmosphere.

Hmm...I'm thinking pit-fires.

 

[ALiberalModerate]

Back up your vague claim.

Point to those energy fields, show me how many gigawatts they're producing per day, and which cities are being powered at what percentage of their entire consumption.

Because I regularly drive through huge solar and wind farms, and the techs tell me they don't produce much yet.

We don't use crude oil for electricity generation. We use it for transportation. Hybrid technology in vehicles is quite mature now and could be much more utilized.

For example, current average fuel economy in the United States per the EPA, is 24.9 mpg.

US Average Fuel Economy Fell In 2019, EPA Expects Record Jump For 2020

The EPA says this is a direct result of more and more customers buying large and not really efficient vehicles.

www.motor1.com

We consume 19.78 million barrels of oil per day in the United States. Of that, 44% is used for passenger vehicles. Along with increasing domestic production, we need to increase CAFE standards to reduce our oil consumption.

 

[coyote505]

Nuclear, wind, solar, hydrogen

If you are talking "blue" hydrogen, from natural gas: This takes more gas than just burning it directly. If you are talking "green" hydrogen from water, this takes a boatload of electric power, where from? If we had abundant electricity from either nuclear or renewables, hydrogen might make a nice motor fuel to reduce urban pollution. However, if we had that much electricity, most folks would probably opt for EVs.

 

[coyote505]

Ride bicycles?

Used to love to do that. My ski knee now objects. Remember, not everybody is 20 something and fit.

 

[rickc]

It's one thing to have a system. Often another thing to get people out of their cars in the volumes that could really make a difference.

$10.00 a gallon gas just might.

Of course that would shut down our trucking industry. Walmart and the grocery stores would be empty.

 

[Schism]

We don't use crude oil for electricity generation. We use it for transportation.

And heating oil and gas.

Hybrid technology in vehicles is quite mature now and could be much more utilized.

At what environmental cost? Where do the precious metals come from? At what human cost?

For example, current average fuel economy in the United States per the EPA, is 24.9 mpg.

US Average Fuel Economy Fell In 2019, EPA Expects Record Jump For 2020

The EPA says this is a direct result of more and more customers buying large and not really efficient vehicles.

www.motor1.com

We consume 19.78 million barrels of oil per day in the United States. Of that, 44% is used for passenger vehicles. Along with increasing domestic production, we need to increase CAFE standards to reduce our oil consumption.

Your missing a great deal of our oil and gas usage. You're also missing the environmental costs of technology and the waste it creates when the batteries reach end of life - currently less than 10 years.

 

[BirdinHand]

I am not talking about that. With hybrid and plugin hybrid tech alone, we could significantly reduce our oil usage without even making lifestyle changes.

If people can afford them. Or if they're available. A search on Carvana shows the cheapest hybrid or electric available currently is a 2010 Fusion at a price tag of $10,995.

According to Mr Google, 83% of Americans live in urban areas. So, while true that mass transport isn't practical for some, the sparsely populated rural areas are not an excuse to do nothing in the urban areas.

Transit already exists in every major metro. Problem is, once you get out of "cities" there is not really a lot of transit options in the suburbs. And even less the further way and more rural you get. So, you still have people reliant upon driving TO train/bus stations in order to get ON transit to get to major metro areas. Many people just figure if they have to drive PART of the way, they might as well drive the entire way.

 

[Lloyd Christmas]

If we are, what can we do about it other than just drilling or importing more oil?

that's why we are war mongerers, befreind deplorable countries like Saudi Arabia, the need that cheap supply of oil. But we should be moving away as long as conservatives and their greedy overlords don't try to stop it. I think it is unstoppable now seeing all the new electric cars, more affordable solar, better batteries, etc that are being developed. Sadly, could have been done decades ago.

Ever since I moved here and was paying 4x what Americans were paying for gas I realized how ****ed up it was... how wasteful Americans were... all the huge Ford 350's and Dodge Rams and raised monster trucks. My brother was complaining the other day about gas prices rising in the USA and I could not stop laughing. A bunch of whiners being the biggest contributors to Climate Change complaining about having to pay their fair share.

Yup, our country has been a gluttonous disgrace of waste. Now china is starting to be that case (they have skyrocketed past us on energy consumption). Last time I was in Vegas it was just appalling how gluttonous it was.

And maybe not as bad if we took care of our own, but now, we have insane poverty and homelessness, disgraceful for such a rich country

 

[Schism]

We don't use crude oil for electricity generation. We use it for transportation. Hybrid technology in vehicles is quite mature now and could be much more utilized.

For example, current average fuel economy in the United States per the EPA, is 24.9 mpg.

US Average Fuel Economy Fell In 2019, EPA Expects Record Jump For 2020

The EPA says this is a direct result of more and more customers buying large and not really efficient vehicles.

www.motor1.com

We consume 19.78 million barrels of oil per day in the United States. Of that, 44% is used for passenger vehicles. Along with increasing domestic production, we need to increase CAFE standards to reduce our oil consumption.

Here's another issue, the electrical grid strains under the pressure of increased energy use during the summer when everyone is running A/C units. If you replace oil and gas heat, you instantly increase the load for winter time, and the strain becomes year round.

What do you envision is the technology that runs massive power plants supplying cities like LA, San Fran, NYC, Chicago, etc?

 

[LouC]

Kind of like asking if humans are too dependent on oxygen.

We could live without oil. We couldn't without oxygen.

 

[rickc]

We could live without oil. We couldn't without oxygen.

Sure couldn't live in our present standard of living

And

I doubt we could support our present population.

Subsistence farming? Plowing with mules?

 

[Ishm]

$10.00 a gallon gas just might.

Of course that would shut down our trucking industry. Walmart and the grocery stores would be empty.

There are examples out there of how to avoid that. In one I have seen, taxes are directly applied to gasoline (that's your $10/gal gas), but not to diesel. Diesel is taxed with a mileage based usage charge that can be adjusted according to user type. Say gas equivalent taxes for private diesel vehicles. Reduced or no taxes for commercial trucks. No taxes for agricultural use etc.

No need to reinvent the wheel. Just look at what systems are already working elsewhere.

 

[lemmiwinx]

We could live without oil. We couldn't without oxygen.

We can live without oil if you consider the Amish lifestyle living.

 

[Bullseye]

According to Mr Google, 83% of Americans live in urban areas. So, while true that mass transport isn't practical for some, the sparsely populated rural areas are not an excuse to do nothing in the urban areas.

Then let the market work. If there's a demand for mass transit - fill it. "Build it and they'll come" gets overused. Here in San Diego they've been trying to push mass transit and carpool lanes on us for decades. Still not a big seller, however. We need more regular freeway lanes to ease massive lines of carbon emitting vehicles. Mass transit works well(?) transporting mexican worker from TJ to work; easier to cross border on foot than wait in 2-3hr vehicle lines.

 

[The Mark]

We can live without oil if you consider the Amish lifestyle living.

You're talking as if no oil would mean everything the Amish voluntarily avoid would go away.

Which is inaccurate.

 

[lemmiwinx]

You're talking as if no oil would mean everything the Amish voluntarily avoid would go away.

Which is inaccurate.

Stuff won't go away entirely if we get rid of oil but very few would be able to afford what's left.

 

[coyote505]

The first thing we can do - and right away - is to stop pissing away gasoline recreationally. We may be dependent on oil for transportation for some more years, but for us to be using billions of gallons annually on dirt bikes and snowmobiles, just racing through the woods, jet skis throwing rooster tails while doing donuts in our lakes and rivers, idling our cars needlessly, etc. We have to become mindful of how destructive and disrespectful that is, of our planet, and all the lives on it. And how much fuel is consumed in recreational power boating? A sailboat might be more work, but the time on the water might be just as fulfilling, and healthier.

Used to enjoy sailing, when I was younger and more agile. Still enjoy my dirt bike. A day of riding it burns up about 2 gallons of gas. Not a major environmental impact.

Energy saving suggestions:
Ventilate your attic, to cut down on cooling bills. If you are re-roofing, go white.
If you live in the desert, Don't convert your swamp cooler to refrigerated air. Public Service of New Mexico says that will raise your summertime power consumption by an average of 550 kWh per month.
Look into ceramic insulating paint, to reduce both heating and cooling bills. Cost is not bad. I figured my payback period as less than one year.
Don't buy more car than you need. You look ridiculous running errands in a crew cab dually pickup. But recognize that some folks, like contractors and ranchers, really DO need them.
If you have less than a foot of insulation in your attic, blow some more in. The difference in heating bills can be dramatic.
Low E windows are useful, though expensive.
Anything that can shade your house in summer, whether trees, vines, or awnings/patio covers can help a lot.

 

[Common Sense 1]

Nope!

Oil makes America go!