ans Posted December 31, 2005 Share Posted December 31, 2005 http://www.energybulletin.net/11901.html This summer, students from Norwegian University of Science and Technology analyzed data from 600 wells drilled on the Norwegian Shelf of the North Sea. They calculated that there are 3000 billion tons of coal off the Norwegian coast. Most of the reserves are located at Haltenbanken. This compares to today's proven and recoverable world reserves of 900 billion tons of coal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted December 31, 2005 Share Posted December 31, 2005 The issue has nothing to do with the availability of energy resources and everything to do with the cost of exploiting those energy resources. Ultra deepsea oil, Tar-sands, methyl hydrates, coal, fission all are absolutely known energy resources just sitting there to be exploited ... but it costs sheds to exploit them. Add to the above the technologies which if you also spent sheds of cash on them would probably supply equally huge amounts of energy: cold fusion, hot fusion etc etc. The fact is oil is currently our cheapest general power source for cars etc [i'm pretty certain coal is still the main supplier of energy for electricity and will be for many years!] As supply drops, that cost will rise stimulating other technologies to either exploit oil more efficiently, or use other energy resources. Oil in real terms is still cheaper than it was in the 1970s, so there isn't alot of movement on new technologies. I really hope hot fusion eventualy works, the current plans to build a full scale test reactor in France are very very good news. Coal, oil, tar-sands, methyl hydrates all purpetuate the REAL energy crisis: pumping prehistoric carbon into our atmosphere. I'll take the radioactivity produced by fusion any day. It will be significantly less than the nuclear waste produced by fission and it can be concentrated at a single point ... there's no way we can do that with atmospheric carbon ... ... actually that's not true either, carbon scrubbing technologies exist; as with all the above we currently aren't willing to pay the cost of using them. I just hope that in 50 to 100 years our descendents aren't paying a hugely more expensive price as a result of climate change. Theres a chance that the costs of climate change may may make the energy price increases necessary to make energy supplies climate change neutral look like small change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombay Bad Boy Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 I really hope hot fusion eventualy works, the current plans to build a full scale test reactor in France are very very good news. The British have been trying for some time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesemonster2005 Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 Although related to a diffferent story there is a possibility of a gas crisis in some parts of Europe. Supplies in Poland, Hungary and now Slovak Republic and Austria have already dropped after Russia stopped supplying Ukraine with gas because of a disagreement over new prices (a price increase of some 400%). It seems that Ukraine may have started siphoning of gas from pipelines which cross their nation on its way to Central Europe (which they are entitled to as payment for the transportation). Beeb News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 There's another way to combat the "fuel crisis" - and put an end to obesity at the same time: He wants your fat for speed record bid Peter Bethune's biofuel-powered attempt at the round-the-world powerboat speed record will feature blood, sweat and tears – as well as his own fat. The Auckland adventurer has had about 100 millilitres – four syringes – of fat from his "love handles" removed by liposuction to literally fuel his record bid. And he is pleading for overweight people about to undergo the procedure to donate their fat to his cause. If Mr Bethune gets enough fat he will have it refined and converted to fuel for his futuristic 24-metre trimaran..... ....a typical liposuction operation may snare 3kg of fat. Once refined that amount could produce three litres of refined biofuel – enough to drive his Earthrace boat 2km. Complete winner, that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Although related to a diffferent story there is a possibility of a gas crisis in some parts of Europe. Supplies in Poland, Hungary and now Slovak Republic and Austria have already dropped after Russia stopped supplying Ukraine with gas because of a disagreement over new prices (a price increase of some 400%). It seems that Ukraine may have started siphoning of gas from pipelines which cross their nation on its way to Central Europe (which they are entitled to as payment for the transportation). Beeb News It seems as though our old 'friend' former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder and his pal - Russia’s President Putin - may be about to feel the heat over their plan to run a pipeline to Germany (and perhaps on to Britain) through the Baltic Sea, bypassing Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The sea route deliberately bypassed the former Soviet countries, even though it was more expensive. Russia, annoyed at their courtship of the European Union and the US, at their wariness of Moscow and delight in their independence, did not want to be beholden on them for transit. Germany conspired in the plan, to Poland’s fury. Poland was right to argue that the pipeline made its own gas supplies from Russia vulnerable, and made it susceptible to pressure from Moscow. Russia would no longer be restrained in its dealings with Warsaw by its need for Poland to carry gas through to Western Europe. Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13...1970578,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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