NOVEMBER 2012
SHALE ENERGY
The US is due for a strong recovery, mostly brought about by cheap
(fracked) shale gas, and increasingly, shale oil. Of course it
will take quite a while for the rest of the world to wake up to that
fact, and the news will mostly be muzzled by Green journalists &
the
Green movement which has succeeded in Europe and Australia in forcing
high cost green energy on an uninformed public.
In the last few years the price of gas (natural gas) has fallen in the
US by 70% to $3 per million BTU (one million BTU ~ one
gigajoule). On the rest of the pacific rim prices are $15/million
BTU.
Gas can be used to produce electricity and even power
automobiles. Assuming 36% thermal efficiency, gas to generate
electricity would cost about $30/Gigawatt hour (or 0.3 cents/Kilowatt
hour) . Or as a car fuel it would cost around one dollar to
provide the same energy content as a gallon of petroleum fuel (Gas).
Of course in the US all the technology to supply and use fracked gas
will take a while to disseminate. Cars have to be converted (at
about $1,000 each). Gas turbine electric power stations must be
built.
Distribution networks (gas pipelines, LPG bowsers) must be
developed.
And all the Greenies over whose dead bodies these changes must occur
must be, well, removed from their obstructive locations.
In the meantime, politics being what it is, do not expect any sudden
retreat by European powers or Australia on
implementation of the green revolution. (The Chinese and
Indians might be a bit quicker on the uptake, although since the
Europeans are buying their stuff, that fact might not be well
publicised). Too many Australian and European fortunes and
political incomes depend on government regulations and the selling of
the alarmist message and wind/solar power generators to the
population.
And the logical connection between cheap power and the improving
standard of living that will be enjoyed in the USA is not something
that your average working Joe in Oz or Europe would make. And
excepting for a few warmist cynics, those who can make that connection
can
afford the higher cost of that power without a significant degradation
of
their lifestyle. Or else they are part of the alarmist
infrastructure.
The fact that many more European people will die of cold or other
energy related causes than by global warming is not really
relevant. And anyhow, the world is overpopulated, right?
CRIMINALS IN GOVERNMENT
My own interpretation of recent revelations is that the Australian
Labour Party is a criminal enterprise that previously owned the state
governments (and therefore the police force) and was happily ripping
off all and sundry. Then (because of Work Choices) the ALP had
to spend a shitload of money to take over the Federal government.
Such is the see-saw of Australian politics that they consequently lost
power in most of the
states. Unfortunately for the ALP that means the criminal
police are no longer under the control of a friendly (ALP) minister,
and so those police can (and do seem to be) investigating criminal
activity by politicians. Consider:
- Eddy Obeid (Labour MP & powerbroker in NSW) is reported
as stealing $100 million by purchasing land and manipulating mining
permits.
- Julia Gillard, while partner in a top soliciting firm,
knowingly and surreptitiously opened a fund for her partner that
pretended to be a union
fund, but was actually a slush fund. Her partner then used that
fund to steal about $1,000,000 from his union mates.
There are other minor matters. Like Julia not getting her
way on the UN Palestine vote.
A bit of corruption (a few $million here and there for
travel or into a private bank account) is what we expect of our
politicians. It is what we have learned to live with.
The
key issue
is transparency. At least, with the Liberals, we the
voters knew who was ultimately responsible. We knew where (i.e.
in whose wallet) the
buck stopped.
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