Coal to Oil Technology
Posted on May 27, 2008 - 12:22pm by Mark Spearman in Alternative Fuels, Economy
I’ve heard many arguments about the fuel price crisis lately. We’ve all received quite an education on oil and it’s effect on the economy. I was quite surprised to find out something new from a Hollywood type like Ben Stein. He was on Glenn Beck discussing the oil scams and debating how we could become oil independent if the will was there.
He commented that Germany ran out of oil when their supplies were cut off in World War II. Under dire circumstances and heavy bombardment, they still managed to have plentiful supply of synthetic oil from coal. Here’s a long-winded link about how they did it. I found it very interesting that home heating oil and diesel make up 90% of the content when the oil is extracted. Sure, it’s not easy or cheap, and the Germans had a plentiful supply of slave labor, but it wasn’t difficult enough to slow their war machine.
If the Germans could do this back then under bad circumstances, what is our hold back to switching technologies now? I’m not saying coal is the total answer, I’m thinking that we have the technology to use coal and numerous other sources, other than just ethanol, to come up with a solution that works well. Like Ben said, the will just is not there. The will was never there at any other time that a supply crisis was claimed either.
Germans now pay over $6/gallon the last I heard, yet they’re not looking at alternatives that either. The entire world is ignoring the alternatives as a matter of fact. Could it be that there is enough easy oil, that there is no need to invest in the more difficult alternatives. Are all of the alternatives to cost prohibitive to use? Could the truth about that supply be hidden from us? There are many questions and only a few brave souls claim that they have the answer, along with a few fools.
I don’t know enough to understand the politics of it, but I would suspect our politicians and their supporters do not want the price to drop. At least not until that will benefit them financially also. It’s just suspicion though and nobody has any evidence. The money shouldn’t be that hard to follow and make public, but I never have seen much.
if we really want to see oil prices come down, I would guess that not buying it would be the only logical way to make that happen, and we all know that we all to dependent for that to happen. We would need to support companies that are interested in using alternatives to free us from foreign oil and demand that the government lift drilling restrictions in nearly baron tundras and wastelands. The most important factor would be that we need to know the truth. Until that happens the American economy seems to operate on the whim of those who control the oil and that hardly makes us a free and sovereign nation. With talk of nationalizing our oil industry in congress, it is a frightening thought as to what could happen to what freedom we have left. It certainly brings doubt about how dedicated our government is to free trade.
I sure miss the days when you just pumped the fuel and never thought about where it came from. Ignorance was bliss.
Same old Congress, same old pork
Biodiesel - What's Up with THAT?
What is being DONE about the high price of fuel
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Not buying oil IS a great idea. But we’ve relied on it for so long and there aren’t many backup alternatives that will completely replace it. So far, we can get oilheat users to switch from using their typical oil for a more eco-friendly B5 blend. It will ultimately help conserve 400 Million gallons of oil. Working for NORA, I have come to realize how much we need to save oil. Hopefully that way, we can help stimulate a price drop. Check this site out and find out about going gree n with oil by yourself: http://oilheatamerica.com/index.mv?screen=bioheat
Wonderful idea except for one minor thing.
When a farmer plants for oil(fuel) he isn’t planting for food. (DAMN that supply and demand…why can’t it just…just….get along?)
So which will it be? High cost of fuel or high cost of food?
Good Post.
It’s called the Fischer-Tropsch process
Furthermore.
Coal to Oil
coal to oil
and here’s why were NOT doing it.
oh dear….
oh deary me….
horrified. anytime something looks like it’s going to get DONE?
oh no…can’t do that. Might disturb the spotted gabblefetcher or the warbly waklebinker.
And then they cry global warming…..the horror.
Idiots.
Global warming is a relegion….hence….it’s immune to facts
From what I understand, the White House has been visited by many very intelligent and wealthy people who have solutions. Their solutions are basically the same, a combination of many different technologies to target specific energy problems and free us of foreign oil. For example, wind power is dominate in Texas. Their percentages of what is used where is the only difference in their plans. They say they are thanked for the input, led out, and then promptly ignored. They claim that the only solution the government is interested in is corn, which is the least efficient of all the solutions.
Our government is ignoring us for some rea$on. The environmental concerns are just excuses. This isn’t 1970. We know how to operate with minimal impact. If they were truly concerned about the environment, what makes a bigger impact, a well operated land oil well, or a tanker wrecking off of a coastline?
It’s clear to me that we are being hoodwinked by both sides of aisle. Probably clear to most. But like Ben Stein said, we still lack the will. As the prices rise, I think that many folks will wake up. Many liberal types are already starting to drop concerns as they try to fill their SUV’s to make the 100+ mile commute to their jobs. Money talks and it makes people start asking questions. I just wonder if people will wake up before the economy goes into a tailspin.
The Bush administration is the lamest of lame ducks. If you must blame it on government blame it on congress. All bush can do is veto or sign a bill on his desk.
Period.
Dot.
Congress does everything else.
But why are we expecting “gubment” to do ANYTHING? When’s the last time “gubment” did anything right? Government is good at two thing.
1. Breaking things.
2. Killing people.
They do that really well.
They do NOT do anything else very well. Ask any doctor about the medical situation. Ask any farmer about the farming situation. Ask any trucker about the trucking situation. Ask any Oil Man about the Oil situation. Ask ANY about ANYTHING and see what they tell you about how well the “gubment” does things.
The single industry in the known universe that outpreformed anything else by a trillion to one has zippo government interference.
Computers.
We need to look to the computer industry, see what they did and how….and do likewise…
#$^@# goverment.
For an example….
Eric Lerner...Focus Fusion
For another…..
Sea Solar. energy from the ocean
OTEC
and more.
we need to quit whining to “gubment” and take the reins in our teeth and do something.
A contribution to Focus Fusion for example..
I think I should have been more clear about what the smart folks are asking of the White House. They are asking them to get out of the way. They want tax relief to make the business of alternate fuels profitable. They may want some grants, but the government most definitely gives grants for worse projects. They want environmental laws relaxed enough to operate.
For example, say you want to develop a solar solution that requires large tracts of desert land. The company developing the solution must pay taxes on that land, the usual bloated employee costs, etc. They want to government to give relief for things of that nature, but the government refuses to yield, unless you want to plant corn.
Corn for food is killing us. We do need to vote the ones out that want to stop new fuels and a lot of other things but most people can not even tell you who they voted for last time.