Guest BlackJesus Posted August 28, 2005 Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 [u]Needed: A Manhattan Project for oil Ed Koch WORLD TRIBUNE.COM August 26, 2005[/u] The Manhattan Project, which began in 1940 and was successfully completed in 1945, cost $2 billion and employed more than 130,000 people. Today the cost would be at least $20 billion in current dollars, and probably more. The purpose of the Manhattan Project was to find a way to harness the energy released by nuclear fission in the form of a bomb, and to do it before Nazi Germany developed its own bomb. In 1952, the so-called hydrogen bomb or thermonuclear device was produced and tested, greatly increasing the destructive power of nuclear weapons. We now import 60 percent of our oil, 28 percent of which comes from OPEC countries such as Saudi Arabia, the other Persian Gulf states and Venezuela About 9.4 percent of our imported oil comes from Canada and 7.7 percent from Mexico. This month, the price of oil got as high as $67 per barrel. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that we will spend $211 billion on imported oil. In 2004, we spent $158 billion and in 2003, $114 billion. Rising oil prices have increased the cost of living and are causing a diminution in consumer spending for other purposes that may ultimately cause major downward shifts in the value of equities. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s website, “In the past, dependence on oil has cost our economy dearly. Oil price shocks and price manipulation by the OPEC cartel from 1979 to 2000 cost the U.S. economy about $7 trillion, almost as much as we spent on national defense over the same time period and more than the interest payments on the national debt. Each major price shock of the past three decades was followed by an economic recession in the United States. With growing U.S. imports and increasing world dependence on OPEC oil, future price shocks are possible and would be costly to the U.S. economy.†In the interest of safeguarding our economy and protecting our foreign policy from the pressures of oil suppliers, it is critical that a government-backed program be initiated comparable to the Manhattan Project that would explore alternative sources of energy. I assume that creating a nuclear bomb was an even more difficult task. The program I am recommending would be an international project similar to the joint effort now being made by the U.S., Europe, Japan, China, Russia and South Korea to harness the clean power of nuclear fusion. There is no time to waste. We must find a substitute for oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaker Posted August 28, 2005 Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 Ive been on the alternative sources bandwagon for yrs. Break the dependence dammit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bengalrick Posted August 28, 2005 Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 absolutely... this has to happen... the longer we depend on oil, the higher it will go, b/c we use so much of it and the supply and demand will only increase... like SS imo, we must defeat the problem before it explodes in the near future... if we don't, we're all fucked... we're already paying for the saudis and a bunch of other dictators to get bigger and badder palaces... we must do create alternatives and nuclear power has to be on the forefront in the mean time... tronobel (sp?) is a bad lesson, but we aren't the russians either... it is too much power to continue to ignore... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer_Rice Posted August 28, 2005 Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 Not gonna happen unless the American people find a way to improve their concentration span and build a genuine movement over a sustained period which demands an improvement in the production and delivery of power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Dan_Bengals_FL- Posted August 29, 2005 Report Share Posted August 29, 2005 Not going to happen, because too many people in government have ties to the oil industry. Would be nice, just don't see it happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steggyD Posted August 29, 2005 Report Share Posted August 29, 2005 [quote name='Dan_Bengals_NJ' date='Aug 29 2005, 02:09 AM']Not going to happen, because too many people in government have ties to the oil industry. Would be nice, just don't see it happening. [right][post="137111"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote] Extreme times will call for extreme measures. People will wake up, something will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BengalBacker Posted August 29, 2005 Report Share Posted August 29, 2005 Barring some new miracle source of energy, it's not going to happen until it's cost effective and profitable. Things like solar panels could be a good beginning, but they're not yet cost effective. They won't be cost effective until there's more demand. If there was more demand, making them could become profitable. If there was more mass production they could make them cheaper, and turn a profit. So..... If everyone who bitches about the environment and wars for oil would start buying, and investing in the alternatives that are available, even if they aren't perfect, it would stimulate reseach and development. So, I blame the liberals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaker Posted August 29, 2005 Report Share Posted August 29, 2005 [quote name='BengalBacker' date='Aug 29 2005, 08:31 AM']Barring some new miracle source of energy, it's not going to happen until it's cost effective and profitable. Things like solar panels could be a good beginning, but they're not yet cost effective. They won't be cost effective until there's more demand. If there was more demand, making them could become profitable. If there was more mass production they could make them cheaper, and turn a profit. So..... If everyone who bitches about the environment and wars for oil would start buying, and investing in the alternatives that are available, even if they aren't perfect, it would stimulate reseach and development. So, I blame the liberals. [right][post="137136"][/post][/right][/quote] Backer....solar, wind and hydrogen power are all now on the fringe of cost effectiveness. Its the infrastructure of getting it delivered and available thats not nearly in place. This has been suppressed for yrs by lobbyists. I want oil to hit $150 a barrel, and gas to go to $4 a gallon. Maybe then the public outcry will be loud enough to put more funding into alternative sources and get the ball rolling faster on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khatmandude Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 [quote name='Beaker' date='Aug 29 2005, 09:33 AM']Backer....solar, wind and hydrogen power are all now on the fringe of cost effectiveness. Its the infrastructure of getting it delivered and available thats not nearly in place. This has been suppressed for yrs by lobbyists. I want oil to hit $150 a barrel, and gas to go to $4 a gallon. Maybe then the public outcry will be loud enough to put more funding into alternative sources and get the ball rolling faster on it. [right][post="137167"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote] There will be NO public outcry unless people are instructed to do so by their televisions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bengalrick Posted August 30, 2005 Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 [i]"i know that i have no money, b/c i had to fill up my truck today, but i'm just waiting for the go from fox news... i do nothing w/out their lead"[/i] give me a break... then how do you explain the minute man project? beaker, isn't solar and wind power almost meaningless on a large scale, b/c it doesn't give out enough energy for us?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaker Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 [quote name='CP1' date='Aug 30 2005, 07:03 PM']There will be NO public outcry unless people are instructed to do so by their televisions [right][post="138373"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote] Good point. My bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.