Energy Independence Archive

You do not need advanced math skills to follow and perform the arithmetic examples shown below. Anyone who can balance a checkbook or calculate the total square feet of floor space in his or her home, and understand why an area measuring 10 yards by 10 yards equals 100 square yards, can perform the following arithmetic examples and prove that American energy independence could be achieved with solar energy alone.

The Biofuels Feedstock Development Program (BFDP) at DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has assembled a team of scientists ranging from economists and energy analysts to plant physiologists and geneticists to lay the groundwork for this new source of renewable energy. Included are researchers at universities, other national laboratories, and agricultural research stations around the nation.

When crude oil is selling above $50 per barrel, synthetic fuels made from coal or other non-petroleum sources of hydrocarbon molecules become economically competitive — but only if refineries have the technology to “refine” unconventional hydrocarbons and biomass, in addition to petroleum.

The widespread availability of cheap mechanical power unleashed the industrial revolution, altering the course of human history. Modern civilization began with the industrial revolution and will continue its advance until all nations have the technology and standard of living that defines the modern world. Global communication and modern transportation systems have changed the geo-economic relationships between nations — modern technology has overcome the great distances and naturally isolated geographical locations that have historically separated the peoples of the world. 19th-centu…

As more and more corn grain is diverted to make ethanol, some groups have become concerned about food shortages. Dr. Bruce Dale, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES) chemical engineering and materials science researcher, has used life cycle analysis tools, which include agricultural data and computer modeling, to study the sustainability of producing biofuels – fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel that are made from renewable resources.

All plants, including trees and grasses, are made of carbohydrates, combined with lignin and a small percentage of oils and proteins (although some plants and vegetables are known for their high percentage of oil or protein, they are the exception).

The USA possesses the world’s largest reserves of “unconventional” oil — coal, and oil shale — estimated to be the equivalent of 1 trillion barrels of oil or more. One trillion barrels of synthetic fuels produced from American coal and oil shale could supply the U.S. with an additional 15 million barrels of oil per day for the next 180 years. Future technology could double or triple that amount. Why, then, is the USA exporting its wealth to foreign countries instead of using the money to develop synthetic fuels from American coal and shale? Why are U.S. citizens allowing it?