I Want a New Fuel Source

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With apologies to Huey Lewis & the News:

“I Want a New Fuel Source, One that won’t make me broke, One that won’t make me crash my car, Or make me have a…stroke”

OK so not much rhymes with broke that would have made sense here and I’m not much of a poet.

All tomfoolery aside, the issue of renewable and clean energy for mass consumption is a serious issue indeed. Unfortunately, because of shortsightedness, greed and public malaise combined with mass Attention Deficit Disorder, we as a country are for the time being, in an abusive relationship with crude oil.

As of July 2005, the US imported on average10.256 million barrels per day of crude oil. The single biggest exporter to the US was Canada, oddly enough, not Saudi Arabia or Iraq (though they do come in at 2 and 6 respectively).

“The top five exporting countries accounted for 68 percent of United States crude oil imports in July and the top ten sources accounted for approximately 86 percent of all U.S. crude oil imports.” (Source)

On the domestic side, the US produces on average 5,419,000 Barrels per day. However, here’s the rub:

“The United States consumed an average of about 20.4 million bbl/d of oil during the first ten months of 2004, up from 20.0 million bbl/d in 2003. Of this, motor gasoline consumption was 9.0 million bbl/d (or 44% of the total), distillate fuel oil consumption was 4.1 million bbl/d (20%), jet fuel consumption was 1.6 million bbl/d (8%), and residual fuel oil consumption was 0.8 million bbl/d (4%)l. Total 2005 petroleum demand is projected to grow by just 1.4% (280,000 bbl/d), to an average 20.7 million bbl/d, in response to the combined effects of somewhat slower economic growth and relatively high crude oil and product prices. All the major products (except residual fuel oil) are expected to contribute to this growth. Motor gasoline demand is projected to increase 1.8%, to 9.22 million bbl/d. Jet fuel demand is projected to post a growth rate of 3.1% in 2005 to average 1.67 million barrels per day, still below 2000 jet fuel consumption but sharply up from post-9/11 lows it reached in 2002 and 2003. Distillate demand in 2005 is projected to grow only 1.5% year-over-year as industrial growth slows.” (Source)

In short, between automotive gasoline, jet fuel and other oil related products, US domestic consumption will continue to grow as supply itself or access to cheap product decreases. In either scenario, the price of fuel in the American marketplace will continue to escalate along with the cost of living as salaries and job opportunities dwindle.

These sorts of economic woes wouldn’t annoy me so much if they were unavoidable. For example, I don’t lament the lack of domestic jobs due to globalization and the rise of cheap labor in Asia because it couldn’t nor shouldn’t be stopped. It’s the natural effect of open global markets. However, this debacle regarding our shameful energy policy is fixable if not for politicians bought and paid for by oil lobbies and an unread population unwilling to pay attention and demand more of their duly elected public servants.

The fact of the matter is that we don’t have to have automobiles fueled by crude oil. There are viable alternatives that are available to the public in our markets as we speak.

For example, last year I believe it was Daryl Hannah who went on “The O’Reilly Factor” to promote Grassolean.com, one of the companies currently producing and marketing biodiesel automobile fuel.

According to their website, “Biodiesel is a vegetable oil based fuel that can be used as a replacement for petroleum diesel in any diesel engine with little or no modification to that engine. Biodiesel is rapidly gaining acceptance around the world, in large part, due to the its many health and environmental benefits, when compared to the effects of regular diesel.

The combustion engine has stood unrivalled as the primary source of power for industry and transportation. Continued use of these engines in the near and distant future is almost certain. Much like crude petroleum oil, crude vegetable oil can be processed into fuels. Unlike fossil fuel, “bio-fuel” can be grown year after year on the same land.”

Grassolean.com isn’t the only game in town. According to Allpar.com, “A new report from the National Resources Defense Council shows that America can produce 25 percent of its transportation fuel needs from agricultural crop wastes — utilizing new processes developed by the biotechnology industry — while reducing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. The report contends that use of cellulosic biofuels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.7 billion tons per year. The report, ‘Bringing Biofuels to the Pump,’ was endorsed by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), which said that development of cellulosic biofuel is economically and strategically vital to helping end America’s dependence on imported oil. BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations.”

Some folks have complained that there aren’t enough automobile options available that would support an engine fueled by biodiesel. These folks are seriously mistaken. The list of available cars that can support a biodiesel engine include the MERCEDES E320 CDI, VW PASSAT, VW PASSAT WAGON, VW NEW BEETLE, VW JETTA, VW JETTA WAGON, VW GOLF TDI, and a few different SUV models for all of you soccer moms out there. Grassolean.com also has a fairly large list of available models.

Even Willie Nelson drives a 2005 Mercedes using biodiesel, and is in a partnership with Pacific Biodiesel, which has opened a plant in Carl’s Corner, Texas.

On the legislative front, “Virginia’s major-party candidates for governor said Friday that they would support tax incentives to encourage the production of biodiesel fuel in Virginia, saying rising gas prices demand government efforts to pursue alternative energy sources.” (Source).

These examples of the biodiesel alternative are just one way to divorce us from crude petroleum oil. There are many others, which I will write about in the near future. In the meantime, given that there are reports that, “Hurricane Rita has caused more damage to oil rigs than any other storm in history and will force companies to delay drilling for oil in the US and as far away as the Middle East,” obviously American consumers will feel even more of a pinch as oil begins yet another upward climb.

We all need to begin demanding loudly that our public servants make a concerted effort to move this country away from petroleum oil rather than seemingly carrying water for Big Oil to the demise of the country they are supposed to be stewarding. The problem is that our public servants have no reason to do what’s right if we the people have no compulsion to watch them like hawks and demand cleaner, renewable energy. They make money and achieve power by listening to oil lobbyists whom obviously spend the time needed to manipulate our energy policy to their favor. If we even just spent a fraction of the time we spend on watching reality TV focusing on what our elected politicians are doing, we might not be in the predicament we’re in now.

If instead we all just bend over and continue to swallow gallons upon gallons of the sweet sweet crude when an alternative is there for the taking, then it’ll be our own fool fault when world wide depression and a complete collapse of the environment ends up ruining us all.

Like the man once said, you get the government you deserve. We all deserve a new cleaner, renewable source of energy. Now all we need to do is start acting like it.