29th Street Ballroom
Oil Is Here to Stay for a Long Time
RECEIVED Tue., Oct. 18, 2005
Dear Editor,
I appreciate Mr. Ventura's articles on the “gloom and doom” prognosis for the hydrocarbon industry, as well as their conclusions that it is related to everything from fuel oil to plastics (“Letters @ 3am,” Oct. 14). While I am an avid supporter of alternative fuels, I disagree that anything of significance will happen right away, though. The oil “bidness” is famous for its wild price swings, and there is evidence that there is plenty of crude oil on today's market. The chief problem is that we (the U.S.) can't refine, store, and distribute the stuff fast enough. When Mr. Bush met the Saudi oil ministers he was told so. Simply stated, the world is swamped with oil. If we can't take it, the Chinese and others will. Yes, it is a “race to the bottom” but the end is not in sight.
I'd like to comment on the Brazil experience, where they refine plant products (not just sugarcane) into ethanol. From an energy input and greenhouse gas perspective, this could be said to be akin to “eating your grandmother” because it wastes more energy and creates more CO2 creating the stuff than burning it. Brazil's system was put together for political reasons, not environmental ones, and it can be directly linked to the immense defoliation of the forested jungles of the Amazon. So, think twice about making that one a role model, maybe.
Otherwise, right on, buddy.
I appreciate Mr. Ventura's articles on the “gloom and doom” prognosis for the hydrocarbon industry, as well as their conclusions that it is related to everything from fuel oil to plastics (“Letters @ 3am,” Oct. 14). While I am an avid supporter of alternative fuels, I disagree that anything of significance will happen right away, though. The oil “bidness” is famous for its wild price swings, and there is evidence that there is plenty of crude oil on today's market. The chief problem is that we (the U.S.) can't refine, store, and distribute the stuff fast enough. When Mr. Bush met the Saudi oil ministers he was told so. Simply stated, the world is swamped with oil. If we can't take it, the Chinese and others will. Yes, it is a “race to the bottom” but the end is not in sight.
I'd like to comment on the Brazil experience, where they refine plant products (not just sugarcane) into ethanol. From an energy input and greenhouse gas perspective, this could be said to be akin to “eating your grandmother” because it wastes more energy and creates more CO2 creating the stuff than burning it. Brazil's system was put together for political reasons, not environmental ones, and it can be directly linked to the immense defoliation of the forested jungles of the Amazon. So, think twice about making that one a role model, maybe.
Otherwise, right on, buddy.
Sam Wells
South Padre Island
South Padre Island