"Piss" on foreign oil!

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   qwarkposted 13 years ago

   I live in Texas.
   Many of the oil field "grasshoppers" here are "still!"
   I see them pumping at times and not at others.
   As I travelled across the states last year, 1/2 - 3/4 of them were "still" while others around them were pumping!
   We've got plenty of oil potential right here in the USA!
   Turn all the damned "grasshoppers" on and tell foreign oil to "PISS OFF!'
   Qwark    :

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      wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I don't know anything about oil pumps, but is it possible that they can pump out oil for a time, but then must pause to allow more oil to seep into the area at the bottom of the well?
      
      I know my parents water well used for garden and lawn use works exactly like that - it will only run for a short time before the water is gone and it must be shut off.  A few hours later it can be run again.

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         qwarkposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Wilderness;
         That's a possibility.
         The gov't controls how much oil is pumped and when limits have been reached.
         Economics controls the amount of oil we can "pump" here in the USA.
         There is no doubt that we have plenty of oil in reserve.
         There is more "natural gas" available to us right here in the USA, than there is oil!
         All gasoline driven engines can operate on natural gas and the conversion is simple...but, the oil cabal will never allow that to happen.
         World economics is enslaved by OIL!
         We are being screwed, blued and tatooed by the world oil cabal!
         Qwark

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            wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            You are correct, I believe, about running a car on NG.  I really don't believe that a giant conspiracy with the oil cartel is the primary thing stopping us, however.  It is infrastructure and engineering; the infrastructure isn't there at all, and the safety aspects of a high pressure tank of NG is not something that has, as of yet, been developed for a car.  Yes, I know that bus fleets are using it and even a very few cars I think, but cost and mass usage have so far been a limiting factor with safety concerns.
            
            I also don't imagine the conversion is very simple with modern cars operated by computers.  I used to operate a fork lift that would use LPG or gasoline as you wished, but I don't think there was a sensor or computer on the whole thing.

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               qwarkposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Hi Wilderness:
               If we can put a man on the moon, we sure as hell could convert gas engines to NG and do it a helluva lot cheaper per car than to electricity...and do it safely.
               Where I came from in Fla., all their NG trucks were converted to run on NG.
               I respect your opinion but there is no doubt that OIL rules world economics thus ruling world politics.
               It is making the rich richer and the poor poorer!
               If there was truly a desire to change energy politics in the USA, it could be done and done quickly and safely.
               But that desire doesn't exist, particularly when there is so much money yet to be made.
               Thanks for the response  :
               Qwark

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                  wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Yes, NG trucks and buses are reasonably common.  But consider the massive steel frame used to protect that high pressure tank - cars do not have that frame at all, and the tank must protect itself.  Plus, the range of these vehicles is considerably shorter than gas engines although far longer than electric cars (that's the single biggest hurdle to electric cars, in fact).
                  
                  But, Quark, the biggest hurdle is still the infrastructure - it simply isn't there!  Even if you tore down every gas station in the country and replaced it with equipment and material to dispense NG you still don't have a pipeline to each station and trucking NG isn't really a viable alternative.  Nor would existing pipelines be large enough to handle the vastly increased load.

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                     qwarkposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Hi Wilderness:
                     If I can wear a vest that will stop a slug from a .44 mag, a material to cover NG tanks is certainly a possibility. I have never heard of a NG truck blowing up.
                     Billions of dollars for reconversion would be "pocket change" for the oil industry. Their coffers are limitless.
                     The gov't would do nothing but create rules and regs and controls.
                     We (the gov't) spend trillions on other "goodies" that cause us to go broke as a nation and cause the death of countless thousands.
                     Private industry has the ability and the $ to convert world economics to something that would improve all life on this planet, but they don't have the inspiration!
                     Qwark  :

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                        wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Wikipedia estimates 250 million cars in the country - at $1000 each (and I very highly doubt it could be done for $1000) that's $250 billion.  Hardly pocket change even for the government, and the infrastructure change will dwarf that figure.
                        
                        Are you suggestion that the oil industry invest several trillion dollars in an effort to put themselves out of business?  Their coffers are not limitless; any business, industry or government can go bankrupt.

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                           qwarkposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           Wilderness:
                           Yes!
                           To the oil industry 250 billion is pocket change.
                           Believe me, the oil industry will not suffer bankrupcy.
                           Nations may become bankrupt but OIL? NEVER! Not as long as there is a drop of oil left in the "cornacopia," the "Big boys" will "drill" and their coffers will never run dry!
                           Oil will end up, actually, owning nations (in terms of economics, they already do) if we continue on as we are.
                           I could write a "hub" on this but the results are so obvious, the future so insured and mankind so predictable for the next few generations (if we last that long) that I would be bored writing it.
                           Anyway wilderness, mankind will not do it "right." Thats a given!
                           Qwark   :

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                              wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              Well, we certainly agree that mankind will not do it right.
                              
                              Personally I would like to see more electric cars.  Battery technology isn't there yet, but we are learning more fast.  There is electricity everywhere there is a gas station and nearly everywhere cars are parked.  The biggest reason, though, may be that electricity is the only energy we have that can be and must be produced from a wide range of sources.  Every bit as much as oil, it is a staple of the country.

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                                 qwarkposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                                 Wilderness:
                                 Time will tell eh?
                                 Good chatting with ya.  :
                                 Qwark  :

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                                    wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                                    Yep - time will tell!  I'm right though - Obama wants a bunch of electric cars, so of course it will happen!

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            KFlippinposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I am fairly sure the government has made it stupidly costly to convert a vehicle to natural gas LEGALLY, while most farmers can do it quickly and cheaply pretty much half asleep. Their are regs that make conversion hugely more costly than it has to be, if that is indeed correct then those regs should be tossed out the window.
            
            The problem most paramount in using our most readily available resources, such as natural gas, is that this administration is keen on electric vehicles, mostly due the influence of the UN.  In the cap and trade bill this admin failed to pass is the explicit provision for new builds of homes to include a PLUG for electric vehicles in all garages.
            
            P.S.  Most water wells do not require a rest to replenish the water in a well, at least not that I have ever known of in my life time from childhood to adulthood enjoying natural well water.  If the well has to pause for replenishing, then it is probably not drilled in the best spot or depth for constant water, which is no doubt fine for outside lawn uses.

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               qwarkposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Hi Kflippin;
               "Oil" money controls politics and world economy.
               Oil and coal are used to produce the electricity used to power cars and create them. MOney, money, money!
               I think NG would be too easy and wouldn't be controlled by "Big oil."
               We could produce all the fuel necessary to keep gas fed cars on the road for generations..and for a lot less money, 'cause it needs no refining.
               When I was a kid in Oregon we drank well water.
               In florida we used well water for the lawn 'cause it had too much "iron" in it to drink.
               thanks for the response.
               Qwark

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                  KFlippinposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  You are quite welcome, and this is a topic that should remain at the forefront of American life.

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                     qwarkposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Thanks Kflippin ...and you are RIGHT!  :
                     Qwark

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               wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I think I lost my post, so will repeat:
               
               I once saw a tank of compressed oxygen (used for cutting torches) fall off a farm truck.  The valve arrangement (at perhaps a pound or two) blew off and across the river, maybe a mile or a little more.  It made quite a mud splash when it hit the far bank.
               
               There are strict laws about securing these tanks, but Farmer Brown doesn't care any more about a compressed NG tank than he does about compressed oxygen.  His conversion is no where safe for highway travel and has virtually nothing to do with converting passenger cars as a result.
               
               The water well I mentioned wasn't even drilled; it is a 2" pipe driven into the ground followed by a 1/4 stick of dynamite to create a cavity at the bottom.  Nevertheless, I think the analogy is a good one; you can pump nearly any well temporarily dry with a big enough pump.

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                  KFlippinposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  ??? My you do have a low opinion of the farmers, the blue collars, the plowers, that put your vegetables at the market so you can put them on the table.
                  
                  So you think farmers do not care if the job they do is done right, put themselves and their families at risk with shoddy work such as natural gas conversions that they have been doing for decades?  How sad that one unsecured oxygen tank would lead to a lifetime of indictment of the mechanical acumen of the American farmer.  Just who do you think keeps their tractors in order?  Ya think they can afford regular outside mechanics for servicing? Really?  LOL
                  
                  As for the well attempted analogy, what you describe is a shallow pit in an area with a very high water table.  Most folks are very close watchers of their water wells.  They are hugely expensive to drill, where I am you have to go 600 plus feet, and most hope their well will last at least their lifetime, those same folks have their washing machine water exiting the house for use in lawn watering, they do not waste one drop of water.  Farmer Brown would no longer exist if they were not frugal over many generations, with water or anything else, and the analogy does not work.  Those dynamite blasting shallow wells for fresh water lawn use are the wasters of water.
                  
                  Funny thing is, I thought you were legit contributing to the discussion, instead you well knew you were not describing a real water well. Harrumph and all that, wish I had not bothered.

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                     wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     I have a very high opinion of farmers and their ingenuity.  I worked on a farm for several years and understand the process, I think.
                     
                     The problem is that a farmer is indeed a mechanic that can make nearly anything work, and work quite well for them.  What they do not do is make things work for the (non-mechanic) masses of people that have no care at all how they use said equipment.  Farmer Brown made his conversion and understands quite well what it will do and what it won't.  He knows how to fill it and how to use it.  How and when to warm the vehicle up (if necessary at all) and what RPM to run it at.  How much power it produces and what he can do with it.  How far he can go on a tank with or without a trailer.  He is a master of his equipment and uses it to the best advantage.
                     
                     Unfortunately the masses of people that will be driving converted vehicles are not Farmer Brown.  They do not understand the vehicle to start with and have absolutely no idea what the conversions mean in operating strategies or usages.  They are the people that will drive over the curb and slam that NG tank against the ground (Farmer Brown knows better and knows what his ground clearance is besides).  They are the people that the conversions must be designed for; idiots that haven't the foggiest idea what they are driving as opposed to a master mechanic that designed his own vehicle.  The two are in no way similar and the same conversion won't work for both of them.
                     
                     As far as the well goes, it still seems to me to a valid possibility.  An oil well that has been pumped for years may well be low on oil and the nearly empty oil chamber now fills slowly by seepage through surrounding rock.  Exactly as the shallow well with a high water table does.

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      KFlippinposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Double Dittos.........

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      C.J. Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      AGREED! The people have been greatly misinformed regarding the domestic oil supply. We should increase domestic production.

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         John Holdenposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         But why when you can steal the oil produced by other countries? Don't forget it has the added advantage of using and justifying your military.

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            C.J. Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Stealing oil at 100 dollars a barrel?? I'm also not in support of mixing oil with foriegn policy. Especially when it comes to the middle east.

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               John Holdenposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               But who gets the $100

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                  C.J. Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  How other contries distribute money is not our concern. However when the US attaches strings to the money, we create more problems than we "fix"

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   paradigmsearchposted 13 years ago

   Works for me!

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      JustMikeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      If you want to stop using foreign oil buy the most fuel efficient car possible and walk or ride a bike for everything in say a two mile radius of your house. That will make a dent in your personal foreign oil usage. The more you ride your bike or carpool etc the more oil you don't use.

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         qwarkposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Justmike:
         Why not "correct" the system that holds you slave to it?
         The "oil barons" don't have to consider riding a "bike!"
         There are millions of elderly people living on fixed incomes who can't ride 2 miles to the store and shouldn't have to.
         Those who hate us are robbing us blind and our elected officials are either too dumb, too greedy or really don't give a flying "frick" how we are being hurt as long as their quality of life is not changed!
         We must "force" a change in the benefits derived by our elected leaders and let them know that even in a democratic republic, "we the people" rule! Or has that thought been lost!
         Qwark

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            wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Given what you say here, I can't see going to any kind of fossil fuel, including natural gas.  Only replaceable sources will do the job.  Even nuclear will run out eventually (though I would expect it to take a long, long time as we find different types of nuclear fuel).

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   American_Choicesposted 13 years ago

   I could not agree with you more!
   
   It is not JUST the place where cocoa or gasoline comes from, it is the origin of their leaders, their administrative staff, their marketing department and where they are paying their federal corporate income taxes.
   http://hubpages.com/hub/Buy-American-Gasoline  I don't wish to promote just inform on adding this Hub.
   
   My Mother was in oil in Texas.  She stated it was one of the most complicated industries.  She was brilliant and very successful.  I have a vested interest in many ways for Texas to prosper specifically.
   
   Great post.  Thank you!

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      qwarkposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks American:
      ...and thanks for becoming a "follower."
      I always read and respond to a "Hub" written by a new friend.
      I'll get to yours tomorrow...:
      Qwark  :

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   Cagsilposted 13 years ago

   It's been said and I don't remember from where, that under one of the State parks, which drilling isn't allowed, there happens to be an Oil resource that could rival Saudi's oil resources.
   
   Yet, government refuses to allow any drilling on it.

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   ryankettposted 13 years ago

   American oil reserves are roughly equivalent to eight years of American oil consumption.
   
   Do you really want to use your last few drops of oil? If your idea is to end your reliance on Middle Eastern exports then your country would be better served assisting Canada in their quest to develop sufficient technologies to extract Sand Oil economically.
   
   Canada has about 8 or 9 times the amount of oil as the United States. Ultimately though, you need to use less. I don't really understand how America uses so much in the first place, you get through 20 million barrels of the stuff per day with a population of around 300 million.
   
   The second biggest consumers of oil are China who use 6.5 million barrels per day. If you want to keep oil prices low or to use your own oil then you need to use less of it, because you are simply running out.
   
   If you were to use the same amount as China your own reserves would last you 24 years rather than 8.... what do you do with it? Do you all drink it?

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