On Sun, 13 Feb 2005 01:21:10 GMT, Joshua Halpern
wrote:

owl wrote:
On 12 Feb 2005 04:36:47 -0800, wrote:
BillC wrote:
You're the fool, especially if you think the industrialized
world is going to shut down on the basis of what are probably
minor fluctuation that may or may not be be partly influenced
by manmade emissions.
(...)
Of course, people aren't going to stop burning fossils fuels -
that is until they are gone, and that end is now in sight.
No it's not. Not even close. They're discovering new fields at the
same pace they always have. New technology is opening up access to
more fields. Other technologies are unlocking tar sands.

http://www.nanotech-now.com/nanocata...els-report.htm

the question with tar sands has always been the net energy cost
of getting the oil out. Whatever it is, it will be a lot higher
than drilling in the Saudi.

Yea, the justification is source-reliability and the threshold is
turning a profit.

OTOH, I have seen (in the 70s) serious proposals to use nuclear
to cook the oil out, essentially turning it into a power
source for transport.

I missed that round of it, but watched the ups and downs over the last
five years. The boiling method is fine, but it takes energy to make
the energy. The current solution is natural gas, but I'd like to see
a nuclear alternative and the natural gas routed to reducing coal
generating stations. It feels like a win-win.

josh halpern