More voices from the middle - climate change edition

[Irrelevant]

Can be done if you put some effort into it.

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Definitely hope to get some hoop houses going in the next couple years. Though our current property gets almost not sun in the winter. It'll mostly be to keep the frost at bay in the Sept and Oct, and get a jump on starts in April and May.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Skepticism is healthy. I really don't worry about the growth in LNG because Europe wants to become less dependent on Russian gas. The NIBY stuff is always an issue.
Solar and wind is subsidized, but so is oil and utilities. I never said renewables were cheaper, but they are getting close, even without subsidies. I figure it is just a matter of time. It is really hard to figure out what the true cost of anything is. You can always look at the tax bill the big oil companies pay versus what they should pay and wonder what you get for that bill. A lot of the argument from oil and electric companies is now "the wind doesn't alway blow and the sun doesn't always shine". You know from the structure of that argument that pure production costs are getting close to parity.

Agree. I am very suspect on their participation in some of these ventures. Oil companies have never proven to be all that innovative. In its infancy the entire industry was only saved by the internal combustion engine and they didn't invent that. Over the last 50yrs I suspect they have spent more on lobbying than R&D. But in this case, if the technology works at scale, it won't take long for people to ask why they are subsidizing oil companies to take carbon out of the ground, car companies and utilities that put it in the air, and carbon capture technology to take it out of the air (and put it back in the ground or create fuel).

I would argue the Oil and Gas industry is incredible innovative, the industry just focuses on drilling technology, production, midstream efficiency, etc. You went from an 500ft deep hand dug well in the 1800s to present where in many basins wells are on average 5 miles long. Imagine the tech it takes to drill a 9 inch hole 5 miles long in 45 days. Not to mention your pay zone may be only 20-50 ft thick, dives or rises fairly steeply, often both over the course of the well, sometimes as steep as maybe 5-20 degrees and is faulted, bits now have gamma ray that allows you to steer the bit and keep it in the formation in real time. But yeah Cervantes would likely be very impressed with the modern windmill, too bad they only last like 10 years... maybe they should talk to the dutch I hear they still have some that are over 600 years old, and get this can be recycled. Seriously, those guys burying the broken one's in Wyoming should really give them a call.

The real issue is that the US is the world's largest oil producer, approx 6% of all jobs in the US are in the OG industry and something like 8% of the countries GDP. The renewable energy section is a fraction of that... honestly tried to find stats but both sides lie, but at least the OG doesn't include maintaining and building the electrical grid into it's count.

The other side of the conversation rarely discussed is just how invested our society is in OG. Everyone from federal and state pension funds to academic endowments are heavily invested in OG.

My whole point is the US has bet hard on OG and it's going to take a lot to turn the ship, that's not to say it shouldn't, simply that it's going to be hard. There are no silver bullets and there is a massive about of bs that you have to wade through to find the facts.

No carbon gasoline... mmmmkkkk.... oh, so it burns and releases CO2, but because it's offset it doesn't count. Got it... eye-roll. Huge push for EV stations in XYZ community, why... to keep the local coal plant alive...

 

[Bigjay73]

All electric vehicles on the road is a great idea.......if we start putting nuke plants in every state.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

All electric vehicles on the road is a great idea.......if we start putting nuke plants in every state.

Agree. I think the idea of stranded assets is important as well. I.E. don't build new coal and NG plants that will quickly need to be decommissioned.

I think the concept should also be applied to solar and wind, perhaps the best idea is to think about the best power source for 2050, put new funding into researching/developing that power sources, perhaps next gen nuclear, and in the interim allowing current power plants to run for the rest of their planned life cycles.

Maybe I'm completely wrong but I just don't see 500,000 acres of solar panels as the solution to our energy needs.

 

[Sytes]

All electric vehicles on the road is a great idea.......if we start putting nuke plants in every state.

Agree. Then the ratio of potential issues, both accidental and intentional becomes a $ factor along with the proactive security expense, etc.
How many plants would be necessary for 270 million vehicles?

 

[VikingsGuy]

Agree. I think the idea of stranded assets is important as well. I.E. don't build new coal and NG plants that will quickly need to be decommissioned.

I think the concept should also be applied to solar and wind, perhaps the best idea is to think about the best power source for 2050, put new funding into researching/developing that power sources, perhaps next gen nuclear, and in the interim allowing current power plants to run for the rest of their planned life cycles.

Maybe I'm completely wrong but I just don't see 500,000 acres of solar panels as the solution to our energy needs.

We should be all in on next gen nuclear.

 

[FI460]

The Next Nuclear Plants Will Be Small, Svelte, and Safer

A new generation of reactors will start producing power in the next few years. They're comparatively tiny—and may be key to hitting our climate goals.

www.wired.com

Just have to get over the radical Chernobyl stigma.

 

[Bigjay73]

Agree. Then the ratio of potential issues, both accidental and intentional becomes a $ factor along with the proactive security expense, etc.
How many plants would be necessary for 270 million vehicles?

More than 1

 

[Irrelevant]

I would argue the Oil and Gas industry is incredible innovative, the industry

While I agree with your post in general, with regard to this quote I must ask, compared to what? I would argue that most technology is on par if not further. In the 1800s were we talking about rovers on mars? Or cell phones? Drilling technology has most certainly changed but in a lot of ways it really hasn't.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

While I agree with your post in general, with regard to this quote I must ask, compared to what? I would argue that most technology is on par if not further. In the 1800s were we talking about rovers on mars? Or cell phones? Drilling technology has most certainly changed but in a lot of ways it really hasn't.

Is drilling tech more innovative compared to everything else, I have no idea how to judge that... but drilling tech has changed, by leaps and bounds, even in the time frame of my career. We competed a bunch of wells 4th quarter last year that no one would have even attempted in ‘14, too deep, too much pressure, complicated geology, etc.
Simply the idea or horizontal drilling and fracking in the modern sense which. We went from rapidly declining production to the largest oil producer in the world. When was the last time you heard “reliance on foreign oil” in the news.

Conceptually yeah it’s fairly similar, but it’s kinda like saying spaceX is no different from the Mercury program.

Caveat being it’s basin specific, some are super easy to drill, in a lot of the Permian you can still get good returns on relatively shallow vertical wells, I’m more referring to the Utica and SCOOP.

All of that being said, it’s all building a better mouse trap, but so are solar and wind developments. Solar panels have been around since the 40s... windmills since what 1000, 900ad?

 

[beginnerhunter]

Didn't read. Unless the article was just the word "nuclear" over and over then it wasn't a serious discussion. Imagine a dying person and one relative says "Give them herbs!" while another one says "There's nothing wrong with them!" while the doctor is waiting there holding the medication.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

 

[BigHornRam]

Housing and the carbon footprint of materials, construction and energy consumption of this housing, particularly in densely populated cities is a big segment of CO2 emmisions today. Forward looking building technology like this is becoming more mainstream.

Timber Trends: 7 To Watch for 2020

Today, we are experiencing a seminal moment within the evolution of timber. Where will this path lead us?

www.archdaily.com

 

[BigHornRam]

Break down of where our greenhouse gas emissions come from.

Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions | US EPA

Sources of greenhouse gas emissions, inculding electricity production, tranportation, industry, agriculture, and forestry.

www.epa.gov

The primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States are:

Transportation (28.9 percent of 2017 greenhouse gas emissions) – The transportation sector generates the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation primarily come from burning fossil fuel for our cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes. Over 90 percent of the fuel used for transportation is petroleum based, which includes primarily gasoline and diesel.2
Electricity production (27.5 percent of 2017 greenhouse gas emissions) – Electricity production generates the second largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 62.9 percent of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas.3
Industry (22.2 percent of 2017 greenhouse gas emissions) – Greenhouse gas emissions from industry primarily come from burning fossil fuels for energy, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from certain chemical reactions necessary to produce goods from raw materials.
Commercial and Residential (11.6 percent of 2017 greenhouse gas emissions) – Greenhouse gas emissions from businesses and homes arise primarily from fossil fuels burned for heat, the use of certain products that contain greenhouse gases, and the handling of waste.
Agriculture (9.0 percent of 2017 greenhouse gas emissions) – Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture come from livestock such as cows, agricultural soils, and rice production.
Land Use and Forestry (offset of 11.1 percent of 2017 greenhouse gas emissions) – Land areas can act as a sink (absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere) or a source of greenhouse gas emissions. In the United States, since 1990, managed forests and other lands have absorbed more CO2 from the atmosphere than they emit.

 

[BigHornRam]

I put led lights exclusively in our latest house. Have noticed a fair reduction in monthly electricity consumption.

Learn About LED Lighting

www.energystar.gov

 

[Irrelevant]

I put led lights exclusively in our latest house. Have noticed a fair reduction in monthly electricity consumption.

Learn About LED Lighting

www.energystar.gov

So did I, until I got talked into xmas lights....

 

[Sytes]

So did I, until I got talked into xmas lights....

LED savior to your conundrum. Upfront $$$. Hey, it's for the environment, right? --->

A Guide to Energy Efficient Christmas Lights, Just in Time for Christmas - benefyd

Practically everybody loves putting up lights around their home during the holiday season, but sometimes they worry about how doing so will affect their electricity bills. However, there’s no need to feel such anxiety (and let’s face it, don’t you have enough to worry about with the holidays...

www.homeselfe.com

 

[SAJ-99]

I would argue the Oil and Gas industry is incredible innovative, the industry just focuses on drilling technology, production, midstream efficiency, etc.

Agree to some extent. I don’t want to downplay the advent of horizontal drilling and fracking, but it should be noted that a lot of the concepts were done in the 70’s in partnership with the US government. There is that nagging fact of government “subsidies” that oil people like to forget.
The industry’s problem it has zero self control on controlling production. The players borrow money to buy the equipment, drill as much and as fast as they can, and flood the market with suppy. Unfortunately investors were historically willing to lend the money and buy into the promise of riches. That is changing. It is getting harder to refinance debt and fund new projects and investors are trying to institute change by deciding where they put their money to use. It is going to be interesting over he next decade to see the changes that happen.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Agree to some extent. I don’t want to downplay the advent of horizontal drilling and fracking, but it should be noted that a lot of the concepts were done in the 70’s in partnership with the US government. There is that nagging fact of government “subsidies” that oil people like to forget.
The industry’s problem it has zero self control on controlling production. The players borrow money to buy the equipment, drill as much and as fast as they can, and flood the market with suppy. Unfortunately investors were historically willing to lend the money and buy into the promise of riches. That is changing. It is getting harder to refinance debt and fund new projects and investors are trying to institute change by deciding where they put their money to use. It is going to be interesting over he next decade to see the changes that happen.

You are spot on, and there were a lot of crap operators with no sense of restraint. Companies are dropping like flies, and the rig count has plummet, it’s going to be an interesting couple of years.

 

[BuzzH]

I put led lights exclusively in our latest house. Have noticed a fair reduction in monthly electricity consumption.

Learn About LED Lighting

www.energystar.gov

We did too...and I hate changing light bulbs as well. LED last a long time.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

We did too...and I hate changing light bulbs as well. LED last a long time.

I love LED lights... especially in those pain in the butt places.