mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
- 15,183
- 25,641
Our refineries are designed to distill heavy sour oil, not the light sweet that we produce. So even when the US is a "net exporter" of oil, we still rely on foreign sources to supply us. Biden says we only need oil for another 8 years though, so I'm relieved that an 80 year old career politician has worked out all the logistics of no longer relying on oil. Too bad we can't have more 80 year old career politicians solve all of our technical problems, because I'm confident that they are the absolute best at understanding physics, economics, and reality.
Reducing dependence on foreign oil is one of the big reasons to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Unreliable and diffuse energy sources are not the answer though. Nobody gets cheaper electricity when they introduce sporadic generation, even if the "fuel" is free. All of the value of energy is that it's available when you want it. A lightning bolt has no value because the energy isn't delivered where it's demanded, when it's demanded.
Next gen nuclear probably is the smartest investment the US could make regarding reliable energy production. We're transferring taxpayer money to used car dealerships (EV tax credits) instead because our 80 year old politicians are either profoundly stupid, or profoundly corrupt.
Next gen nuclear probably is the smartest investment the US could make regarding reliable energy production
indeed .. all the PhDs I know in physics are wondering why the USA is not investing in Nuclear power .. they all believe it is the best of the options we have ..