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North America has plenty of oil. We don’t need OPEC.I think what a lot of people miss about the West's push for EVs is that it really isn't about pollution or the Earth. It's about cutting the puppet strings from OPEC nations and untangling political obligations to the middle east. $.02
North America has plenty of oil. We don’t need OPEC.
Wait, what? We need them to transact in US dollars. But we are pushing for EVs to solve our problems with them selling oil? “It's about cutting the puppet strings from OPEC nations”But the world does and as long as they are needing and buying oil, we need them to transact in US dollars. Also, OPEC can move the price for oil which can cause economic booms or recessions if they tilt the price too far in a given direction.
Wait, what? ...
Like I said, we have plenty oil in North America. If what you are saying were true, the government shouldn’t be shutting down drilling, but increasing it. Also increasing the use of nuclear energy.The West is trying to cut their dependence on the middle east (economically -> politically -> militarily). Back when George W. ran the show, we were besties with Saudi Arabia. They used us as their proxy to reshape the middle east and the PNAC neoconservatives in Bush's inner circle were all for it for their own purposes (Israel). Thus the the march to the Iraq war based upon fabricated lies of WMDs.
Everything changed when Obama got the crown. He did not play nice with Saudi Arabia (we failed to invade Iran or Syria) and relations soured. It was around this time that the big push for renewable energy began in earnest. It was not, IMO, just a coincidence. The Obama admin (and allies in Europe) made a decision to cut out the middle east's economic leverage so we didn't have to dance on their strings.
Things have been very rocky ever since with Saudi Arabia. Trump more or less continued Obama's middle east policy avoiding war with Syria and Iran and Biden has also continued to hold the line. KSA got more aggressive after the death of old King Salman and the rise of MbS (KSA threatening to abandon trading oil in dollars, Khashoggi murder, OPEC cuts to drive the oil price just before election time, flirting with the BRICS, etc.).
If the world loses it's dependence upon middle east oil, it no longer depends upon KSA's good graces for the stability of the petrodollar. I can only surmise that the think tanks who game theory this shit have concluded that such a change would not hurt the balance of global dollar trade or the dollar's global reserve status. I would guess that this only works if the entire West manages the migration (to renewable energy sources) together.
I could be wrong, but that's how it looks to me.
Edit: Forgot to mention KSA's war/atrocities in Yemen which were largely kept quiet/not reported here in the USA.
...
Gee, why don't we just drill and mine stuff here? ...
Because we're supposed to FAIL. It's their plans.If they force us to drive these shitty battery cars, we can tell the Middle East we don't need them any more for the oil.
But, we need to kiss China's ass for the battery components?
Gee, why don't we just drill and mine stuff here? Then, we can tell all of them to get lost.
That's an even dumber reason than saying they are pushing EV's in order save the Planet from pollution.I think what a lot of people miss about the West's push for EVs is that it really isn't about pollution or the Earth. It's about cutting the puppet strings from OPEC nations and untangling political obligations to the middle east. $.02
... Gasoline is but one product we get from oil. In order to not need their oil, we would need to find replacements for ALL products currently derived from oil. ...
But we still need all those other products.Found nifty graphic:
View attachment 10872
here:
Refining crude oil - inputs and outputs - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
An overview of and data on inputs of crude oil and other liquids in oil refineries and resulting products of oil refining.www.eia.gov
The west doesn't need to reduce oil trade to zero to mitigate middle east oil dependency. Gasoline for autos make up the majority product demand for crude oil.
No. Refining processes would adjust to produce the products refiners can sell.... If not, the oil required to produce them will still result in vast quantities of gasoline that is no longer needed. ...
So they can refine a barrel of oil and get only the products they want? That the 49% of oil that is gasoline can be changed into plastic, or diesel fuel, or asphalt instead of gasoline?No. Refining processes would adjust to produce the products refiners can sell.
To a large degree. If a refinery is producing jet fuel, there will be some residuals that eventually end up as a byproduct, but gasoline is not a byproduct - it takes a lot of (dedicated/targeted) processing to produce from crude. The byproduct from gasoline refining isn't making all the other categories either. Most of the useful products are the result of primary refining processes (not byproducts).So they can refine a barrel of oil and get only the products they want? ...
How large, is a large degree?To a large degree.
So that same dedication and targeting can be used to produce something completely other than gasoline? That a barrel of oil can be refined without ending up with anything they do not want?is not a byproduct - it takes a lot of (dedicated/targeted) processing to produce from crude
Once upon a time, before the auto was ubiquitous...but well after we'd found petroleum oil to lubricate steam equipment, and found kerosene for lamps...How large, is a large degree?
Considering the amount of crude being refined, even a small percent being wasted is a huge amount.
So that same dedication and targeting can be used to produce something completely other than gasoline? That a barrel of oil can be refined without ending up with anything they do not want?
....and when I called it a byproduct, I was referring to back when oil was first being refined and prior to the internal combustion engine. In that the the portion of crude containing the hydrocarbons that would be used to make gas, had no use at the time and was considered a waste byproduct of the refining process.
That is what I had previously read about gasoline and why it began being used as a fuel in cars, as there was no other use for it at the time.
That's what I was getting at.But prior to the auto age, gasoline, a waste product, was just burned off.
I think what a lot of people miss about the West's push for EVs is that it really isn't about pollution or the Earth. It's about cutting the puppet strings from OPEC nations and untangling political obligations to the middle east. $.02
I remember the R&T where they reviewed the "new" design Corvette, probably 1983. The exterior looked much better than the previous fish style and for a young guy like me, the interior looked great. They wrote about how many details GM did to get the mileage as high as possible (high twenties?) And I think the price was somewhere around $30K.Not when a $30k car is a cheap car.
I bought a Nissan pickup, King Cab, A/C, 4x4...all the bells and whistles except it had a manual and a four.I remember the R&T where they reviewed the "new" design Corvette, probably 1983. The exterior looked much better than the previous fish style and for a young guy like me, the interior looked great. They wrote about how many details GM did to get the mileage as high as possible (high twenties?) And I think the price was somewhere around $30K.
Around that time, maybe 1984, the last V8 Mustang with a carb was going for around $12K. Ford seemed to be pushing their turbo 4 SVO, but I did not have the least interest.
Now, 30K will buy what? It looks like it is time to carefully look at the used market and find something that will last for 300K and do the interim maintenance costs.
I read a headline somewhere yesterday that Tesla had supposedly rehired a number of the 500 employees that had been fired. I did not read the details or save the link.
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