WE will need fossil fuels like oil and gas for the foreseeable future. So there’s really little choice (sigh). We have to press ahead with fracking for natural gas. We must approve the Keystone XL pipeline to get Canadian oil.
This mantra, repeated on TV ads and in political debates, is punctuated with a tinge of inevitability and regret. But, increasingly, scientific research and the experience of other countries should prompt us to ask: To what extent will we really “need” fossil fuel in the years to come? To what extent is it a choice?
As renewable energy gets cheaper and machines and buildings become more energy efficient, a number of countries that two decades ago ran on a fuel mix much like America’s are successfully dialing down their fossil fuel habits. Thirteen countries got more than 30 percent of their electricity from renewable energy in 2011, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency, and many are aiming still higher.
Could we? Should we?
A National Research Council report released last week concluded that the United States could halve by 2030 the oil used in cars and trucks compared with 2005 levels by improving the efficiency of gasoline-powered vehicles and by relying more on cars that use alternative power sources, like electric batteries andbiofuels.
Just days earlier a team of Stanford engineers published a proposal showing how New York State — not windy like the Great Plains, nor sunny like Arizona — could easily produce the power it needs from wind, solar and water power by 2030. In fact there was so much potential power, the researchers found, that renewable power could also fuel our cars.
“It’s absolutely not true that we need natural gas, coal or oil — we think it’s a myth,” said Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and the main author of the study, published in the journal Energy Policy. “You could power America with renewables from a technical and economic standpoint. The biggest obstacles are social and political — what you need is the will to do it.”
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- Shell investigates smoke near Gbaran oil facility in Nigeriaon May 14, 2024 at 5:47 am
opens new tab is investigating reports of smoke early Tuesday near its Gbaran Ubie oil and gas facility in Nigeria's coastal Bayelsa state, a spokesperson said, after residents reported ... but we are ...
- Chinese Companies Secure Bids To Explore Iraqi Oil And Gas Fields, US Firms Absenton May 13, 2024 at 7:15 am
Chinese companies have secured bids to explore five Iraqi oil and gas fields, while U.S. firms have been notably absent. What Happened: The bidding process, which took place on Saturday, saw Chinese ...
- Eni eyes new oil and gas spin-offs in energy transition satellite strategyon May 13, 2024 at 2:16 am
Italian energy group Eni could spin off stakes in high-potential oil and gas projects, including in Indonesia and Ivory Coast, to help finance their development while focusing more capital on ...
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Researchers from New Mexico's Sandia National Laboratories have a new tenant in mind for dirty gas and oil's old underground digs. By moving hydrogen into the subterranean reservoirs, the experts ...
- Oil Spills Newson May 10, 2024 at 5:00 pm
While large oil spills are highly publicized, every year there are ... Fourteen Years After the Gulf of Mexico ... acidified oceans and wiped-out marine life had a milder effect in the Gulf ...
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The oil and gas industry has reaped profits without ensuring there's money to clean up “orphaned” wells. In Oklahoma, it could cost more than $7 billion.
- BP to Cut Costs After Profit Misses Expectations on Weaker Oil, Gas Priceson May 6, 2024 at 11:28 pm
BP’s first-quarter profit was hit by lower oil and gas trading but it confirmed a $1.75 billion share buyback.
- Oil and Gas Price Update: Q1 2024 in Reviewon April 29, 2024 at 2:01 pm
While oil prices remained relatively stable throughout Q1 2024, gas prices sank to multi decade lows, hitting US$1.55 per Metric Million British Thermal Unit (MMBtu). The decline was attributed to a ...
- What’s Behind The Oil And Gas Attitude Toward Electric Vehicleson April 16, 2024 at 4:18 pm
Oil And Gas Components Used In EVs New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA) are expected to tout the benefits of oil and gas in a state that is ranked number 2 in oil production after Texas.
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- Kazakhstan to lift gas production ban in nature reserveon May 14, 2024 at 7:58 am
Kazakhstan is set to lift its ban on allowing new oil and gas developments in one of the country’s environmentally sensitive areas, with plans to give a Chinese-owned company the green light to ...
- Global Oil & Gas Valves Market Revenue Share to Drive Past USD 18,720.19 Million by 2034, Driving a Steady Growth of 3.4% CAGRon May 14, 2024 at 6:35 am
The global oil and gas valves market has reached a significant milestone, surpassing USD 13,400.5 million by the conclusion of 2024, with promising growth trajectories anticipated. Projections ...
- GEMXX Corporation Negotiates Terms for a Landmark Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Agreementon May 14, 2024 at 6:31 am
LAS VEGAS, May 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via IBN - (OTC: GEMZ) ("GEMXX" or the "Company"), is strategically expanding its business model to include a significant partnership with Latin Energy ...
- $2.2bn Africa cooking stove plan includes funds from oil and gas groupson May 14, 2024 at 6:17 am
The International Energy Agency has marshalled $2.2bn from governments and companies, including oil and gas groups, to fund better cooking methods across Africa in the “largest ever pledge” to tackle ...
- PetroSun Announces a $2.5 Million Farmout Agreement With Pivot Point Energy, Inc. Including Holbrook Basin Targets of Helium, Oil and Natural Gason May 14, 2024 at 6:00 am
PHOENIX, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / / PetroSun, Inc (OTC PINK:PSUD) (the "Company") announced today that a new Farmout Agreement has been reached with Pivot Point Energy, Inc covering approximately 207,663 ...
- Equinor and Petoro swap Norwegian oil and gas assetson May 14, 2024 at 1:35 am
Equinor and Norwegian state-owned oil firm Petoro have agreed an asset swap to that allows the companies to harmonise their ownership in key fields, the two groups said on Tuesday.
- Indonesia Offers Five Oil and Gas Blocks in First Auction for 2024on May 14, 2024 at 12:37 am
Indonesia has offered five oil and gas blocks in its first tender of the year, part of a broader effort to reverse an extended production decline in the country.
- Indonesia offers five oil and gas blocks, pledges to boost explorationon May 13, 2024 at 8:04 pm
Indonesia launched its first oil and gas auction this year offering five blocks on Tuesday, while the government pledged to boost exploration in an effort to reverse output declines in a country that ...
- New Mexico forges rule for treatment and reuse of oil-industry fracking water amid protestson May 13, 2024 at 5:06 pm
Environmental officials in the nation’s No. 2 state for petroleum production are taking initial steps toward regulating the treatment and reused of oil-industry fracking water ...
- Oil and gas firm Apache sells prime Post Oak site to developers who plan upscale mixed-use projecton May 13, 2024 at 11:08 am
Oil exploration company Apache Corp. has sold a prime 6.3-acre parcel on Post Oak in Uptown, where a newly formed real estate venture plans to build a luxury mixed-use development. The land at 1750 ...
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