STrRedWolf (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
strredwolf) wrote2005-06-12 03:59 am
strredwolf) wrote2005-06-12 03:59 am
Oil Storm...
FX Network's docudrama "Oil Storm" posed a question to the viewers, saying "What would happen if the flow of oil to the USA was temporarily severed?" To spoil folks, their answer was "A year of hell, a nessisary shift in energy strategy, and a damaged economy."
The better question would be "What would happen if the flow of oil from everywhere to everywhere was peramently severed?"
I would think total anarchy would be highly probable at this current stage of the game. Alternate fuel cars (aka natural gas, hydrogen, and their hybrid eletric forms) would need to be quickly refined and produced. Lighter materials would provide for added efficency. I doubt the world could wait that long.
But this exersize has some relivance on Canmeph 2. The world is older, as is the species. Many wars have come, and a healthy amount of paranoia has set in as well as the need for a certian level of redundancy in everything. With energy, this was paramount. So, in addition to oil, other fuels were being developed on the fastest pace possible. Solar energy was refined to near-100% levels. Battery technology improved massively, squeezing every electron possible out yet keeping it viable for a new charge. Hydrogen, coal, oil (crude and natural-grown), nuclear, you name it.
There wasn't much of crisis, as the mindset was now on "be as efficent as possible, with leeway for comfort, so everyone can stay afloat." There aren't many personal automobiles, as mostly it's mass transit and your own two feet. Of course, you'll need one for groceries and such.
And then, the invention of the Artificial Singularity Cell, the ultimate matter-to-energy converter. The ASC's principle is simple: exploit a black hole's tendency to "leak" various types of matter and energy as it degrades over time. How it does isn't for discussion here (but I will describe it later). Needless to say all that useless junk you want gone peramently can be used to power your car. Of course, the ASC's are (what I'll nicely term) "volitile" by nature. If not handled correctly, it could suck you in and recycle you as electrons. Thus, they're used more often than not in major energy plants.
There is one other side-effect of the ASC's, though. While they spew out electrons, they may also spew out various atomic matter, including the odd gasoline molecule. Given how many ASC's are in place around the world (and the tight security!) you may say that the older energy plants are still active, and Canmephia is now a major player in the intergalatic energy market.
And that's not counting Canmeph 3, Babylon Alpha, or any other station using ASC's.
---
In doing some prelim research, I came across a report by the Department of Energy. According to them, using current technology, the world will run out of crude oil in roughly 30 years. We have that amount of time to find new energy sources, refine more efficent technology, and impliment it in the consumer markets. 30 years...
The better question would be "What would happen if the flow of oil from everywhere to everywhere was peramently severed?"
I would think total anarchy would be highly probable at this current stage of the game. Alternate fuel cars (aka natural gas, hydrogen, and their hybrid eletric forms) would need to be quickly refined and produced. Lighter materials would provide for added efficency. I doubt the world could wait that long.
But this exersize has some relivance on Canmeph 2. The world is older, as is the species. Many wars have come, and a healthy amount of paranoia has set in as well as the need for a certian level of redundancy in everything. With energy, this was paramount. So, in addition to oil, other fuels were being developed on the fastest pace possible. Solar energy was refined to near-100% levels. Battery technology improved massively, squeezing every electron possible out yet keeping it viable for a new charge. Hydrogen, coal, oil (crude and natural-grown), nuclear, you name it.
There wasn't much of crisis, as the mindset was now on "be as efficent as possible, with leeway for comfort, so everyone can stay afloat." There aren't many personal automobiles, as mostly it's mass transit and your own two feet. Of course, you'll need one for groceries and such.
And then, the invention of the Artificial Singularity Cell, the ultimate matter-to-energy converter. The ASC's principle is simple: exploit a black hole's tendency to "leak" various types of matter and energy as it degrades over time. How it does isn't for discussion here (but I will describe it later). Needless to say all that useless junk you want gone peramently can be used to power your car. Of course, the ASC's are (what I'll nicely term) "volitile" by nature. If not handled correctly, it could suck you in and recycle you as electrons. Thus, they're used more often than not in major energy plants.
There is one other side-effect of the ASC's, though. While they spew out electrons, they may also spew out various atomic matter, including the odd gasoline molecule. Given how many ASC's are in place around the world (and the tight security!) you may say that the older energy plants are still active, and Canmephia is now a major player in the intergalatic energy market.
And that's not counting Canmeph 3, Babylon Alpha, or any other station using ASC's.
---
In doing some prelim research, I came across a report by the Department of Energy. According to them, using current technology, the world will run out of crude oil in roughly 30 years. We have that amount of time to find new energy sources, refine more efficent technology, and impliment it in the consumer markets. 30 years...
no subject
And under current regulations and practices for extracting coal we would fill up every river valley on the east side of the continent. Anything not filled would be unusable from the slag. You can see the valley fill from space, if that gets you a good idea of what coal mining is all about. And right next to it is an open pit that used to be a mountain. Trust me on this one, you do not want to play with coal or oil. Just get off that teat right now. We don't have enough oil in Alaska. There's less than 1 year of oil left in all of Alaska if you ran the country entirely on that supply. North American oil peaked 30 years ago.