Gasification Technology - Page 7
Introduction | History | Challenges | Benefits | Current Tech | Future Tech | Conclusions
By Scott Miller — February 2011
CONCLUSIONS
Why does any of this matter? There are three basic necessities that are
required in order for humans to survive and thrive on this planet – air,
water and energy. Some like to throw food and shelter in the mix but in reality,
these come from the combination of air, water and energy. Same with clothing,
transportation and medical care. Without energy, mankind is just a bunch
of Natives roaming the lands in loin clothes with spears.
But the unfortunate reality is that this critical resource is subject
to the whims and mercies of governments. Events that shouldn’t impact
a natural resource operating in a free market routinely cause oil and
natural gas prices to spike 30-50%. Governments also come equipped with
strong motivations to lie – to lie about costs of production, available
reserves and potential capacity. Claims have been floating for years
that Saudi Arabia is exaggerating their available oil reserves by as much
as
40% in an effort to gain investors. And the simple fact is that when
governments make these claims, we have no way to determine if they are
right or wrong.
What is being proposed here is a program that could potentially meet
most of the energy needs of the United States using a mix of domestic
natural resources, existing wastes and renewable sources. The capital
costs to build the infrastructure for this endeavor would cost significantly
less (less than $50 billion per year vs. more than $90 billion per year)
than what we currently spend on military protection for existing oil,
much less than the foreign aid and other indirect subsidies the current
industry receives. If we were to employ a simple approach of 50-50 matching
grants to projects towards this program it would likely pay for itself
over time ($25 billion per year spent against the taxes on the $250 billion
per year currently going abroad that would go to domestic producers).
Consequently, the savings from no longer needing the military and foreign
aid abroad for oil could simply be cut from the budget.
As shown, gasification is a proven, mature technology that is capable
of meeting the energy needs of the United States in the years ahead. It
holds significant potential for improvement and growth while offering
a better, cleaner and safer way of maintaining our current industries
and activities. We don’t need a “New Manhattan Project” and
we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We simply need the political
will to do the right thing.
Introduction | History | Challenges | Benefits | Current Tech | Future Tech | Conclusions
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