7/30/08

The world’s largest Chapstick


TRI-O’sOddities, observations & opinions
By Herb Kandel



Will Rogers, humorist/author/commentator/philosopher, said “All I know is what I read in the newspapers.” To paraphrase him: All I know is what I glean from newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and occasional tarot cards (I quit smoke signals long ago, cold turkey). The message that is coming across those media lately is: What are the best ways to reduce American dependence on oil, have renewable energy sources and protect the environment?

We've all seen the T. Boone Pickens teaser ad about capturing energy from the wind and utilizing natural gas; we await his unveiling of the plan. Al Gore too has been espousing his views on energy and the environment. Last week I heard another expert who has made me rethink other aspects concerning the consequences of certain drilling and nuclear sources of energy.

The person being interviewed by Charlie Rose on PBS was Amory Lovins. He is the co-founder, chairman and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute in Colorado (RMI), a non-profit think and do tank that promotes the use of resources in ways that are efficient and restorative.They are engaged by both companies and governments as consultants to make more money for them while doing less harm to the environment. The other half of their support comes from individual donors and foundation grants. Their research in technologies in renewable energy, on oil dependence and resource planning places them on the cutting-edge. Lovins has been described as “one of the Western world’s most influential energy thinkers,” has written 29 books and is against nuclear power.

Lovins contends that electricity and oil have essentially nothing to do with each other. Less than 2 percent of our electricity is made from oil and this oil is the bottom of the barrel gooey sludge not used for fuel. Nuclear is grossly uneconomic and its revival is “a very carefully fabricated illusion” as “it costs about three times as much as wind power ... While it cannot deliver the climate and security benefits claimed for it.”In 2006, renewables produced more electricity worldwide than nuclear. Now it produces a sixth of the world’s electricity. The U.S. Addition of wind capacity last year was more than the past five years of coal capacity combined. Private capital poured $71 billion into renewables while nuclear got zero. The market is saying that nuclear is not feasible when measured against renewable sources.

His thoughts on drilling are also enlightening.
“Making efficient cars is equivalent to finding an all-American Saudi Arabia under Detroit.” He continues, “It will save about eight-and-a-half million barrels a day, and it is inexhaustible, climate-safe and costing about 12 bucks a barrel.”

When prices were $20 a barrel, oil companies were not interested in drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). At $120-$140 a barrel you would think it a no-brainer to drill there. However they are still not interested because the costs of drilling have gone up more than the oil price went up. The region has a hostile environment, the drilling is risky, and they could drill cheaper in almost any other place in the world.

Let’s put aside environmentalists’ reasons — forget the animals, the pristine beauty, the trees, the manmade routes to the sites, the refuse left behind — let’s just consider the security aspects.The only way to get the oil flowing south is through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. It is an 800-mile pipeline mostly above ground. Jim Woolsey, former CIA director, has testified against the ANWR drilling on national security grounds. It’s what he refers to as “Uncle Sam’s ‘kick me’ sign.”

This pipeline, easily accessible by road and plane, is the most vulnerable part of the infrastructure and probably the longest terrorist target. It has sustained two botched bombings, has been shot at over 50 times, a drunk put a hole in it with a rifle shot and shut it down, and around Y2K, a disgruntled employee was caught about to blow up three key areas with homemade bombs.

If pumping stations or other vital points were attacked in the winter, if the flow through it was interrupted for about a week, Lovins claims “nine million barrels of hot oil congeals into the world’s largest Chapstick, then you can't pump anymore” (not to mention the cleanup).

So it seems that drilling offshore poses less of a security risk than ANWR and provides a more monetary incentive for the private sector. Of nuclear? Forget about it: uneconomical high cost for minor contributions. Renewables, i.e., wind, solar and hydro, appear to point the path to solutions.

But what do I know? After all “All I know is what I read in the newspapers.”


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