In my random wanderings I came across several interesting things over the years and a couple of new ones which, considering the current propensity of OPEC to jerk us around and push us closer and closer to not only a wrecked economy but a potential war, seem worth looking into.
FACT: In WW2, the Germans developed synthetic oil.
FACT: Gasoline can be made from coal.
FACT: New Zealand takes wood alcohol and turns it not into gasohol, but regular gasoline.
FACT: We make several forms of synthetic oil, the cost of which has been steadily dropping.
FACT: The current synthetic oil extends the time between oil changes from every 3000 to every 10,000 miles.
FACT: The major American Oil Companies have deliberately discouraged the development or the usage of alternate fuels for decades.
FACT: The major American Oil Companies have a complete monopoly on all oil based fuel in the United States.
The New Zealand one got me. I was watching educational television and saw a short clip where they mentioned how NZ has no oil wells of it’s own and is dependent on imported oil. So, they have diminished their reserves and are happily churning out gasoline to replenish them by a process which converts wood alcohol into it.
I stumbled across an article somewhere which mentioned that during WW2, the British were able to make gasoline out of coal.
I had read ages ago where the German Synthetic oil was too costly to manufacture except during war time, but not too many years ago, synthetic oil was introduced on television. (You’ve seen the advertisements where they dump this $20 a can oil into an engine on a block, run it, drain all of the oil out and even drain out the coolant and the engine purrs on.) As time went by, different forms of synthetic oils hit the market and the price dropped considerably. (Like a RONCO product – starts out at $200 and a year later is in Kmart at $29.95.) Plus, even mechanics I know agree with the claims of the oils and recommend it. (Including my brother, who is a commercial mechanic.) I observed that instead of having to change the oil every 3000 miles, now it is up to 10,000. That sort of makes up for the slightly elevated cost per can. (Most now available at $3.00 a quart.)
For ages people have been printing out articles about the monopoly of the American Oil Industry and price fixes, suppressed technology and so on – and some of them true. Look at the effective campaign against Nuclear Reactors which all but stopped any exploration into reactor generated, cheap energy. (I’m ignoring the sloppy construction by nefarious contractors and the several instances of poor staffing by the companies running some of the reactors.)
The Alaskan pipeline was supposed to cure our fuel problems when OPEC first decided to screw us, but that has not happened. The Oil Industry decided to restrict the flow. However, the fuel crisis was sufficient to push through the desired pipeline in the first place, which was what the major oil industries had been wanting for years.
Gasohol. That was a bust. Suddenly it was eating up plastic parts in carburetors and rumors spread like wild fire about how it was bad for cars. Interestingly enough, most of the affected plastic parts had replacements of metal. Gasohol almost went belly up.
Also interesting was that while the prices of gasoline were going through the roof, the plastics industry, which needs petrol products, did not increase the cost of their items.
Even more interesting, to me at least, was the fact that banks invested in the price of oil – which has this tendency, like in all stocks, to push prices up. Most people I know who are economists have pointed out that such investments are unstable (as the banks found out when OPEC unexpectedly dropped the price way down and cost them millions) and not good for the economy BUT are potential high gains for the banks.
So, if New Zealand can produce gas, why can’t we? (Oil companies still burn off millions of gallons of natural gas as a waste product, yet it is highly used here and sells at $2.75 for a pressurized gallon!) We already know, by way of the synthetic oil, that the more a product is produced, the lower the manufacturing cost drops.
According to some very speculative and more rational than I, people I know, we can produce inexpensive gas in large quantities WITHOUT having to use all that much new wood. After all, much recycled news print is tossed away or, after being used X number of times, the fibers in the paper become too broken to be used in making more paper with. It can be used as wood pulp. Much of our wood mill waste is not recycled and can be poured into the fermenting hoppers. (A lot of that new chip and particle board so liked in construction is usually made from shredded, new trees with a bit of recycled matter tossed in.) Even hay and certain weeds can be tossed in. Gasoline can be made at far less than the current prices.
They agree that the American Oil Companies, who are steadily making profits, do not want this technology used until THEY manage to monopolize it.
Kind of like the Auto industry. They ran several smaller, better companies out of business (Delorian comes to mind along with the fabulous Tucker) and incorporated many of their designs into their own cars – after continuing to churn out gas guzzlers, oil burners, and death traps until they decided it was profitable to change. (Ralph Nader helped tremendously in forcing their hand in that.)
It has been shown since the 70s that OPEC increases the prices, our economy staggers, we develop economy cars, and they drop the costs per barrel as we recover. Our economy booms, the local yokels go back to buying gas guzzlers and building poorly insulated homes and OPEC hikes the prices again and the whole thing starts all over.
Unfortunately, our own oil companies are quick to capitalize
on such things. Like the price of diesel went up beyond gasoline and never really came back down. Curiously, while gas prices fluctuate, lubrication oil prices do not. (For the dim, gasoline is made from oil. So, logically, the price of a can of oil should fluctuate as rapidly, though not as much because gas is a by product of oil.)
