40 years of oil left?

[Blue Velvet]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/oil/story/0,,2196435,00.html

Sobering news for a Monday morning...


Steep decline in oil production brings risk of war and unrest, says new study

• Output peaked in 2006 and will fall 7% a year
• Decline in gas, coal and uranium also predicted

World oil production has already peaked and will fall by half as soon as 2030, according to a report which also warns that extreme shortages of fossil fuels will lead to wars and social breakdown.

The German-based Energy Watch Group will release its study in London today saying that global oil production peaked in 2006 - much earlier than most experts had expected. The report, which predicts that production will now fall by 7% a year, comes after oil prices set new records almost every day last week, on Friday hitting more than $90 (£44) a barrel.

...

The results are in contrast to projections from the International Energy Agency, which says there is little reason to worry about oil supplies at the moment.

However, the EWG study relies more on actual oil production data which, it says, are more reliable than estimates of reserves still in the ground. The group says official industry estimates put global reserves at about 1.255 gigabarrels - equivalent to 42 years' supply at current consumption rates. But it thinks the figure is only about two thirds of that.

Global oil production is currently about 81m barrels a day - EWG expects that to fall to 39m by 2030. It also predicts significant falls in gas, coal and uranium production as those energy sources are used up.

Britain's oil production peaked in 1999 and has already dropped by half to about 1.6 million barrels a day.

The report presents a bleak view of the future unless a radically different approach is adopted. It quotes the British energy economist David Fleming as saying: "Anticipated supply shortages could lead easily to disturbing scenes of mass unrest as witnessed in Burma this month. For government, industry and the wider public, just muddling through is not an option any more as this situation could spin out of control and turn into a complete meltdown of society."

Mr Schindler comes to a similar conclusion. "The world is at the beginning of a structural change of its economic system. This change will be triggered by declining fossil fuel supplies and will influence almost all aspects of our daily life."



Surely, this is what conflict in the Middle East is about, a Western land-grab for diminishing resources, particularly as Russia seems to have enough of its own.

Once upon a time, the future was a better place...

[dops7107]

Surely, this is what conflict in the Middle East is about, a Western land-grab for diminishing resources, particularly as Russia seems to have enough of its own.


Absolutely, even the Americans admit this now.

It's a sad fact of limited resources - I wish politicians would wake up and start thinking in terms of energy rather than money all the time.

[edesignuk]

It's not even about global warming any more. We're running out of what powers us fast and that's the end of it.

Guess I'll never own a V8, or maybe I should say "run a V8".

Oh bugger.

[Blue Velvet]

Guess I'll never own a V8.

You can always yoke it to a team of horses... :D

[bartelby]

Guess I'll never own a V8,

Of course you will. A lot of places sell this:
http://terrengsykkel.no/img/magasin/telex/full/santacruz-V8-juice.jpg

[edesignuk]

It seems kind of absurd that anyone is spending big money developing new super airliners, tankers and ships etc. They'll all be grounded soon enough :rolleyes:

[miniConvert]

Not a fun read at all :(

If these figures are to be believed then the vast majority of folk here will see this change in its entirety in their lifetime. If that's not a scary thought then I don't know what is.

I absolutely hate the idea of the worlds armies battling for natural resources. Could it really happen? Well, I guess so, given that it looks like the wars have already begun.

Generally I'm for national independence and autonomy, but this sort of thinking does make me ponder whether the UK would have a better future if it forged tighter ties with Europe now. Not that a strong Europe would be safe from fragmenting, but perhaps it would result in a fairer distribution of the continents resources and help prevent any one country striking out on its own.

It's a grey day outside of my UPVC windows. Perhaps I'll accelerate a little more gently in the Vanquish from now on.

[bartelby]

It seems kind of absurd that anyone is spending big money developing new super airliners, tankers and ships etc. They'll all be grounded soon enough :rolleyes:

We'll be back to sail power for our holidays!

Imagine:

A two week holiday to NYC. You set off, you arrive and you turn back.:(

[Badandy]

Of course oil is a finite resource, but they have been saying we're about to run out of oil for the last 50 years.

And hey, we have lots of coal in the United States.

[iBlue]

There's got to be another (better) way. Meanwhile I'm sure texan oil pricks can milk it for all its worth. :rolleyes:

[miniConvert]

There's got to be another (better) way.
I still hope that the increasing price of oil will make it financially viable for massive companies to invest massive amounts of money in finding energy alternatives. There's a massive desire to be environmentally friendly at the moment and, while that's great, I think it may be limiting innovation. We may even have to accept that whatever comes next, if anything, may be worse for the environment than current fossil fuels have been.

Still, we have some greenish technology in its infancy. Perhaps 40 years of money and science will be enough.

[Jaffa Cake]

There's got to be another (better) way.There’s always the possibilities of renewable sources of energy – not a complete solution perhaps but at the very least it might help take some of the pressure off fossil fuel stocks. Every little helps, surely?

There are a couple of proposed wind farm sites in this area, but naturally the nimby types are up in arms and are petitioning against them left, right and centre... :rolleyes:

[bartelby]

There are a couple of proposed wind farm sites in this area, but naturally the nimby types are up in arms and are petitioning against them left, right and centre... :rolleyes:

I really like wind farms. I think they look cool.

We decided about last month that the next home improvements will be photo voltaic panels and a little wind turbine.

[dops7107]

I still hope that the increasing price of oil will make it financially viable for massive companies to invest massive amounts of money in finding energy alternatives.

You see, this is what concerns me. Soon enough, it aint gonna be solely about money. There's a reason oil "costs" more - there isn't enough of it - i.e. energy - for what everyone wants. So that should mean energy is only used for crucial things, which is what a market should do. But in order to get cleaner energy off the ground, what we really need to do is invest energy, not money. Everyone's still talking cash. Especially disregarded is energy in vs. energy out. All the money in the world won't solve that problem.

[edesignuk]

I was pleased to hear that BT are spending £250m (US$500m) on renewable energy to generate 25% of the power they use. Apparently BT are the largest single user of power in the UK, lapping up 1% of all power generated.

Still, a quarter of a billion just to generate a quarter of the power they use. Gives a horrible indication of just how expensive this stuff is :eek:

[phungy]

40 years should give us enough time to convert to alternative power right?

[miniConvert]

You see, this is what concerns me. Soon enough, it aint gonna be solely about money. There's a reason oil "costs" more - there isn't enough of it - i.e. energy - for what everyone wants. So that should mean energy is only used for crucial things, which is what a market should do. But in order to get cleaner energy off the ground, what we really need to do is invest energy, not money. Everyone's still talking cash. Especially disregarded is energy in vs. energy out. All the money in the world won't solve that problem.
I'm not sure I understand...

...we should pay scientists with oil instead of money? :p

[bartelby]

I was pleased to hear that BT are spending £250m (US$500m) on renewable energy to generate 25% of the power they use. Apparently BT are the largest single user of power in the UK, lapping up 1% of all power generated.

Tesco (boo hiss) have actually done something good. They're starting to transport goods via canal!

[Queso]

The ironic thing about people fighting over this particular scarce resource is that it takes up a lot of the scarce resource in the fighting itself, sort of a downward spiral.

Of course if we start looking for solutions now, we can stretch that 40 years out by a few more decades. Diesel engines, which power virtually all of the ships of the world, run on just about anything, even vegetable oil if necessary. Maybe if we all go vegetarian we can use all the land currently occupied by the meat industry to grow rapeseed. That ought to make the mineral oil last a little longer.

[edesignuk]

Tesco (boo hiss) have actually done something good. They're starting to transport goods via canal!And I think I heard they're putting solar panels on the enormous flat roofs of their enormous stores!

[bartelby]

Maybe if we all go vegetarian...

:eek:

Hey now!
Let's not go insane about this!

And I think I heard they're putting solar panels on the enormous flat roofs of their enormous stores!

There's enough Tesco stores round here to power the city!

[OllyW]

Maybe if we all go vegetarian we can use all the land currently occupied by the meat industry to grow rapeseed. That ought to make the mineral oil last a little longer.

If we all went vegetarian, wouldn't the land used by the meat industry have to be used to grow more vegetables :confused:

[dops7107]

I'm not sure I understand...

...we should pay scientists with oil instead of money? :p

Not quite - though money is, essentially, transferable work/energy. I buy food so I don't have to grow it.

What I'm saying is by the time oil becomes so expensive that we think seriously about non-essential travel and power cuts at non-peak times, perhaps all the easy "cheap" oil has been used. This means that finding enough to build all the wind turbines, photovoltaics, tidal barrages and dealing with nuclear waste will be non-viable - both energetically and economically. If it comes to the point where we are still reliant on fossil fuels for things like transport, but we're using more energy to get it out of the ground than the fuel itself supplies, we're going downhill. We need the infrastructure to generate that energy while we can still make it.

If we all went vegetarian, wouldn't the land used by the meat industry have to be used to grow more vegetables :confused:

Some, but not all of it. One less energy conversion step (Sun -> plants vs Sun -> plants -> cows) means less energy is wasted, so we need less land for the same amount of food.

Of course, we don't have to become all-out vegetarian - just eat less meat, say once a week if you heavy-duty carnivores can face that! :p

[miniConvert]

What I'm saying is by the time oil becomes so expensive that we think seriously about non-essential travel and power cuts at non-peak times, perhaps all the easy "cheap" oil has been used. This means that finding enough to build all the wind turbines, photovoltaics, tidal barrages and dealing with nuclear waste will be non-viable - both energetically and economically. If it comes to the point where we are still reliant on fossil fuels for things like transport, but we're using more energy to get it out of the ground than the fuel itself supplies, we're going downhill. We need the infrastructure to generate that energy while we can still make it.
Thanks, I'm with you now.

I'm so for the vegetarian thing. I know it'll be really hard for us all, but come on, we can do it! Oops, I forgot, I'm veggie already... you can do it!

[Queso]

If we all went vegetarian, wouldn't the land used by the meat industry have to be used to grow more vegetables :confused:
Nope. The Vegan Society (http://www.vegansociety.com/html/environment/land/) explains why.

[OllyW]

Of course, we don't have to become all-out vegetarian - just eat less meat, say once a week if you heavy-duty carnivores can face that! :p

I can cope with using less petrol, but cut down on meat, no way :eek:

[Queso]

I can cope with using less petrol, but cut down on meat, no way :eek:
You're doing yourself no favours by eating a lot of it. The human body isn't designed for a constant intake of meat. More like a couple of times a week.

[Ugg]

It seems kind of absurd that anyone is spending big money developing new super airliners, tankers and ships etc. They'll all be grounded soon enough :rolleyes:

The first thing I thought when I read this was the A380 is doomed!

If we all went vegetarian, wouldn't the land used by the meat industry have to be used to grow more vegetables :confused:

Meat is a very inefficient means of producing protein.



There needs to be a worldwide energy efficiency campaign. It needs to start in the US.

[skunk]

How much oil does it take to produce a gallon of oil from rapeseed?

[Swarmlord]

How much oil does it take to produce a gallon of oil from rapeseed?

Fortunately the presses of seeds like this can run on the very oil they produce. I still think that hemp seed produces more oil per weight than anything like rapeseed.

Pressed seed oil is still a heck of a lot more efficient than the ethanol processing that adds the need to actually ferment and distill the end product after pressing or grinding the grain.

The poster higher up brought up an interesting point about aircraft though. I wonder if and when commerial aircraft will be converted over to some type of biofuel.

[juanm]

The first thing I thought when I read this was the A380 is doomed!

Isn't more fuel efficient to fly a 400-seater instead of two 200-seaters? I've no idea, I'm just asking...

[bartelby]

The poster higher up brought up an interesting point about aircraft though. I wonder if and when commerial aircraft will be converted over to some type of biofuel.

Some airlines are planning biofuel trials next year.

[iGav]

Guess I'll never own a V8, or maybe I should say "run a V8".

And why not? Audi make a perfectly good TTDi V8 that is perfectly capable of running on biodiesel. ;)

I'm never sure how to take these kind of reports, I remember being taught at school 15 years ago that the remaining oil stocks would only last about... 15 years.

[Ugg]

Isn't more fuel efficient to fly a 400-seater instead of two 200-seaters? I've no idea, I'm just asking...

It is a lot more efficient and the A380 has the best efficiency of any wide body jet. However, the efficiency is only valid if the plane is near capacity. The A380 will only be economical on long-haul, popular routes like Singapore to London.

[Ugg]

Fortunately the presses of seeds like this can run on the very oil they produce. I still think that hemp seed produces more oil per weight than anything like rapeseed.

Pressed seed oil is still a heck of a lot more efficient than the ethanol processing that adds the need to actually ferment and distill the end product after pressing or grinding the grain.

The poster higher up brought up an interesting point about aircraft though. I wonder if and when commerial aircraft will be converted over to some type of biofuel.

That's true, but planting, fertilizing, irrigating and harvesting the plant also takes a large amount of fuel.

Branson has pulled back from his plan to use bio fuel on Virgin Rail in the UK, in part because of the incredible cost to the environment that raising plants for oil causes.

There ain't no free ride and biofuels are only justifiable if they're consumed in the same area they're produced.

[furcalchick]

i think a good way of extending the oil supply is to start driving our cars alot less and rely on other forms of transportation. alot of oil usage saved just there.

i think this oil problem is real, and we will have a dramatic lifestyle change in our lifetimes...

[shikimo]

Diesel engines, which power virtually all of the ships of the world, run on just about anything, even vegetable oil if necessary. Maybe if we all go vegetarian we can use all the land currently occupied by the meat industry to grow rapeseed. That ought to make the mineral oil last a little longer.

And why not? Audi make a perfectly good TTDi V8 that is perfectly capable of running on biodiesel. ;)

Don't forget about the consequences of biofuel. As reported in this article and many others,

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20070509/ai_n19065219

biofuel may do more harm than good. In the big picture, what will be gained if developing countries sacrifice their ability to produce affordable food in the name of selling biofuel to wealthier countries? IMO this is the wrong approach: all it does is put off the inevitable need of finding truly renewable energy sources to feed the energy needs of an ever-exploding human population.

PS: A former supporter of biofuels, I only dug deeper as a result of following the "anything Bush thinks is a good idea needs to be investigated further" rule. Every now and then I agree with him, but most of the time a little digging turns up the evil, shortsighted money-grubbing angle on any subject on which he has an 'opinion'.

[MacNut]

Is there a way to make an efficient steam engine. We have lots of water.

I would like to get a diesel engine in my next car but they are still to expensive to be worth it.

[CalBoy]

Is there a way to make an efficient steam engine. We have lots of water.

Isn't that the idea behind those hydrogen cars? Frankly that is one of the biggest scams around, because in order to separate hydrogen from water (the only source of abundant hydrogen we have on Earth), it takes a great deal of electricity.

As for the end of oil, I say we line every home, rail station, office building, etc, with solar panels. A poster above mentioned energy conversion as a cause of power loss (all power is one form of solar or another, as the cycle is: sun>>plants>>animals>>fossil>>petroleum, or sun>>plants>>fossil>>coal). By having solar panels line all of civilization, we would be able to greatly reduce our need for other (namely fossil) fuels. If we build more infrastructure like subways, monorails, etc, we can end our need for petroleum.

Then again, this is all too logical to work.:rolleyes:

[Daveman Deluxe]

i think a good way of extending the oil supply is to start driving our cars alot less and rely on other forms of transportation. alot of oil usage saved just there.

Conservation is the single best source of energy out there. For most of the past one hundred years, there has been a direct relationship between the U.S. GDP and energy consumption, EXCEPT for when necessity forced the U.S. to conserve energy (notably during the energy crisis of the 70s). In these times, energy consumption decreased while GDP continued to increase. After the crises ended, the direct relationship resumed (though the renewed increase in energy consumption started out at its lower level). There need not be a direct relationship between energy consumption and GDP, and there need not be a crisis for the situation to change if we put our wills to it.

My roommate and I wear sweaters around the apartment. We don't even turn on the installed heaters at all--we have a small space heater that we occasionally run when it gets REALLY cold. We also have storm windows, which helps a lot.

[Naimfan]

This might be slightly off-topic, but what ever happened to fusion research? I remember reading optimistic reports on fusion being a decade away.....in the late 1970s. Here we are 30 years later and fusion appears to be no closer than before.

[FrankBlack]

This might be slightly off-topic, but what ever happened to fusion research? I remember reading optimistic reports on fusion being a decade away.....in the late 1970s. Here we are 30 years later and fusion appears to be no closer than before.

I haven't heard anything more about fusion since the 90's, when those two researchers Stanley Pons, and Martin Fleischmann, announced that they had created a fusion process in a table-top lab apparatus. The work was denounced as sloppy, and no one seemed able to reproduce the desired result. There's a Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Fleischmann) entry about it.

Maybe "Soylent Green" isn't that far off. :eek:

[hulugu]

This might be slightly off-topic, but what ever happened to fusion research? I remember reading optimistic reports on fusion being a decade away.....in the late 1970s. Here we are 30 years later and fusion appears to be no closer than before.

Fusion is turning out to be a lot more complicated than previously thought, while there have been some successes with tokamak designs, they continue to be in the testing stages. We continue to be in the R&D phase and baring any "Chain Reaction"-style advances, it's going to be a while.

Frankly, I think we'll see uber-efficient solar arrays before we can light our own fusion fire.

...The poster higher up brought up an interesting point about aircraft though. I wonder if and when commerial aircraft will be converted over to some type of biofuel.

According to this article (http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S18/96/92S56/index.xml), researchers at Princeton are working on this very problem.

[Naimfan]

Fusion is turning out to be a lot more complicated than previously thought, while there have been some successes with tokamak designs, they continue to be in the testing stages. We continue to be in the R&D phase and baring any "Chain Reaction"-style advances, it's going to be a while.

Frankly, I think we'll see uber-efficient solar arrays before we can light our own fusion fire.

I've followed some of the research at Princeton, and I think you're exactly right. Great reference to a bad movie!

Is solar the only practical way forward at the moment? It's not my field at all, but from what I've read/heard, it seems so.

[Iscariot]

I can cope with using less petrol, but cut down on meat, no way :eek:

It's actually not as hard as most people think. Many vegetarian dishes are very tasty!

[Spikeanator6982]

Theres nothing wrong with biofuels, but they are not the answer mearly a portion of the answer. As far as ethanol rising food prices, such as cereal, theres like a cup of corn in a box of cereal. A bushel of corn can make how many of those boxes of cereal? and that bushel costs what? $3.50 or so? yet that can raise the price of cereal by even 50 cents..thats just food companies screwing people.

Biofuels need to be supported, but they need to be made from grasses, algae and other none food items asap. BUt they need to be supported in order to make the transition. Eventually, solar, wind, wave, and water power i hope will power everything. using the excess power to make hydrogen. and using hydrogen and electric cars. This can be done. Like someone else said..put solar panel on the roofs..why can't people push this, and DO it themselves?

o and me, vege, NO

[CalBoy]

It's actually not as hard as most people think. Many vegetarian dishes are very tasty!

Uh...it's kind of hard :o. I tried to be veggie for a brief period, and I couldn't do it. I think it just makes more sense to be more conservative with your meat intake. Don't have it with every meal, and cut down on your portions (I'm sure your cardiologist would agree).

[Iscariot]

Uh...it's kind of hard :o. I tried to be veggie for a brief period, and I couldn't do it. I think it just makes more sense to be more conservative with your meat intake. Don't have it with every meal, and cut down on your portions (I'm sure your cardiologist would agree).

That's actually what I meant, although I admit in retrospect it's not that clear. What I meant was that it's easy to cut down on your meat intake because vegetarian dishes are becoming more available and are often pretty tasty.

I was at a bar last night, and they had a veggie burger, and it was very delicious no less. In fact, a lot of the bars I go to have vegetarian and vegan (vegan = no animal products at all, including eggs and dairy) options nowadays.

[hulugu]

I've followed some of the research at Princeton, and I think you're exactly right. Great reference to a bad movie!

Is solar the only practical way forward at the moment? It's not my field at all, but from what I've read/heard, it seems so.

Well, since there's been an influx in money and interest in solar, the technology's grown by leaps and bounds. It also offers the best solution because it can be retrofitted so easily into current home and building designs. Currently, solar's biggest problem is storage.

Now, many people who argue against "green" technologies often point out that solar won't work in the higher latitudes, but this is where tidal, wind, or geothermal can kick in, backed by nuclear systems if necessary.

One of the really neat things about solar is the ability for home-owners to lay down their own systems for relatively small investment. And, the technology is getting more efficient and cheaper. I'm paying very close attention to solar because I want to install my own system.
I live in Arizona, I might as well use some of the energy that beats down on my roof every day.

[CalBoy]

That's actually what I meant, although I admit in retrospect it's not that clear. What I meant was that it's easy to cut down on your meat intake because vegetarian dishes are becoming more available and are often pretty tasty.

I was at a bar last night, and they had a veggie burger, and it was very delicious no less. In fact, a lot of the bars I go to have vegetarian and vegan (vegan = no animal products at all, including eggs and dairy) options nowadays.

Ahh, gotcha. Yeah, it is getting easier and easier to supplement one's diet with non-meat options. Frankly, one of the biggest problems we have in terms of energy use today is McDonalds(and other fast food places like it). They require lots of beef, have it shipped all over the world, cook the food several times before it gets to the consumer, and abuse electricity like there's no tomorrow.

[hulugu]

This can be done. Like someone else said..put solar panel on the roofs..why can't people push this, and DO it themselves?

I think if we really wanted to change things, the United States could reinvest the massive subsidies for the oil companies (including tax breaks) towards solar arrays for public buildings and massive complexes like shopping malls.

For instance, a shopping mall near my house has approximately 700,000 square feet of roof. If one square foot produces about 10 watts, this means the roof could create 7Mw per hour, per day.
Take a look at your local area from Google Maps, how many roofs do you see? How much of this square footage could be covered with solar arrays? And how much power would that produce? Even if that electricity didn't fulfill the needs of a city, it could dramatically reduce the amount needed from the utility company.

[CalBoy]

I think if we really wanted to change things, the United States could reinvest the massive subsidies for the oil companies (including tax breaks) towards solar arrays for public buildings and massive complexes like shopping malls.

For instance, a shopping mall near my house has approximately 700,000 square feet of roof. If one square foot produces about 10 watts, this means the roof could create 7Mw per hour, per day.
Take a look at your local area from Google Maps, how many roofs do you see? How much of this square footage could be covered with solar arrays? And how much power would that produce? Even if that electricity didn't fulfill the needs of a city, it could dramatically reduce the amount needed from the utility company.

This is something I would love to see happen as well. Though I'm not yet ready to buy a house, I'm pretty sure that when I do, it will come with solar panels (if it doesn't, I will have them installed before moving in). From my perspective, I will have ~30 years of mortgage to pay off, so what's an additional $10,000(this is high; the cost has dropped recently)? Considering the fact that they pay for themselves in about 11-15 years, I say it's a heck of a deal.

Major industrial centers, malls, office buildings, etc, could all zero-out their bill as well. With all the power produced, we would be able to expand public transit that uses electricity, and really start to cut down on oil consumption.

[Iscariot]

This is something I would love to see happen as well. Though I'm not yet ready to buy a house, I'm pretty sure that when I do, it will come with solar panels (if it doesn't, I will have them installed before moving in). From my perspective, I will have ~30 years of mortgage to pay off, so what's an additional $10,000(this is high; the cost has dropped recently)? Considering the fact that they pay for themselves in about 11-15 years, I say it's a heck of a deal.

Major industrial centers, malls, office buildings, etc, could all zero-out their bill as well. With all the power produced, we would be able to expand public transit that uses electricity, and really start to cut down on oil consumption.

Home construction also plays a big role in wasting resources that could otherwise be recycled. There are now a growing number of "green" construction/real estate options available. In Toronto, for example, Tridel builds a number of green condominiums. They adhere to strict policies like a 75% waste diversion rate, the use of local recycled materials, high-efficiency boilers, toilets, showers, increasingly environmental carpetting, paints, finishing materials, etc.

[hulugu]

Home construction also plays a big role in wasting resources that could otherwise be recycled. There are now a growing number of "green" construction/real estate options available. In Toronto, for example, Tridel builds a number of green condominiums. They adhere to strict policies like a 75% waste diversion rate, the use of local recycled materials, high-efficiency boilers, toilets, showers, increasingly environmental carpetting, paints, finishing materials, etc.

And, with the available material design you can actually get very good RA ratings by incorporating new windows, good seals, and passive heating and cooling in the design. Interestingly enough it appears that older designs, such as the shotgun houses of the south, adobe buildings of the west, and brick buildings were significantly more efficient than the legions of tract housing the US built from 1950-1990.
Small changes such as facing the home in the appropriate direction for the lattitude can also save lots of energy.

I think more than anything the solution is to whittle down the problem by creating many paths of material and power efficiencies. Not only would the US save power, but the resulting investments would create jobs and new local industries. And, the western world can export these technologies and techniques to the third world, allowing those countries to leap-frog past the "dirty" coal and oil-driven industries and directly to green technologies.