Nbadan
12-14-2005, 02:13 AM
Ships, trains could solve US energy crisis
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Forget futuristic hybrid cars and solar-powered homes. The trains and river barges that drove the industrial age may be the key to stemming a U.S. energy crisis, according to one sector expert.
..snip..
The shift would require a huge investment to revamp the old rail system and dredge waterways. But Simmons said the U.S. economy would receive a significant boost if a serious effort to rebuild the transport and energy sectors were undertaken.
"By the time we are rebuilding our railroads and rebuilding our pipelines and re-dredging our ports, we will have the strongest economy in the history of the United States because it will create the most incredible demand for blue collar jobs," he said.
U.S. companies could also help reduce demand by allowing employees to work from home, cutting down fuel used during commuting, Simmons said.
In addition, consumers can help by purchasing food produced and shipped locally rather than buying goods shipped from overseas.
"The (local) can of tomatoes is energy unintensive. Bringing tomatoes into New England from Mexico is very energy intensive," Simmons said. ....>
Reuters (http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2005-12-12T185901Z_01_KWA265320_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENERGY-US-TRANSPORT.xml&archived=False)
Save the economy by investing in railroads, river-barges, and Pipelines? Sounds crazy at first, but according to the U.S. Energy Department's own report,Hirsh Report (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirsch_report) the Peak Oil problem stems from the shortage of Liquid Fuels (growth in demand mainly from the transportation sector).
"The peaking of world oil production presents the U.S. and the world with an unprecedented risk management problem. As peaking is approached, liquid fuel prices and price volatility will increase dramatically, and, without timely mitigation, the economic, social, and political costs will be unprecedented. Viable mitigation options exist on both the supply and demand sides, but to have substantial impact, they must be initiated more than a decade in advance of peaking."
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Forget futuristic hybrid cars and solar-powered homes. The trains and river barges that drove the industrial age may be the key to stemming a U.S. energy crisis, according to one sector expert.
..snip..
The shift would require a huge investment to revamp the old rail system and dredge waterways. But Simmons said the U.S. economy would receive a significant boost if a serious effort to rebuild the transport and energy sectors were undertaken.
"By the time we are rebuilding our railroads and rebuilding our pipelines and re-dredging our ports, we will have the strongest economy in the history of the United States because it will create the most incredible demand for blue collar jobs," he said.
U.S. companies could also help reduce demand by allowing employees to work from home, cutting down fuel used during commuting, Simmons said.
In addition, consumers can help by purchasing food produced and shipped locally rather than buying goods shipped from overseas.
"The (local) can of tomatoes is energy unintensive. Bringing tomatoes into New England from Mexico is very energy intensive," Simmons said. ....>
Reuters (http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2005-12-12T185901Z_01_KWA265320_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENERGY-US-TRANSPORT.xml&archived=False)
Save the economy by investing in railroads, river-barges, and Pipelines? Sounds crazy at first, but according to the U.S. Energy Department's own report,Hirsh Report (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirsch_report) the Peak Oil problem stems from the shortage of Liquid Fuels (growth in demand mainly from the transportation sector).
"The peaking of world oil production presents the U.S. and the world with an unprecedented risk management problem. As peaking is approached, liquid fuel prices and price volatility will increase dramatically, and, without timely mitigation, the economic, social, and political costs will be unprecedented. Viable mitigation options exist on both the supply and demand sides, but to have substantial impact, they must be initiated more than a decade in advance of peaking."