T.Boone LIES? Closed Loop Energy Cycle VIDEO, Dan Reicher for Sec. of Energy?
Stafford Williamson
November 17, 2008
T. Boone Pickens appeared on Meet The Press on NBC on Sunday morning. Like most zealots, he, unfortunately, overestimates the accuracy of his "facts". But before I correct his mis-information, please take a look at my latest little video (the "prologue" follows in the next couple of paragraphs, before the link)(or maybe the embedding will actually work).
Vitally important to both ECONOMIC RECOVERY for America and the world, Green Energy Policy and implementation must include two elements: Closed Loop Energy Life Cycle considerations, and GLOBAL DEPLOYMENT.
Climate change is a global problem, and the best way to address this issue, while at the same time creating vast new export markets for American products is to export our GREEN TECHNOLOGIES to the underdeveloped countries of the world IMMDEIATELY they are developed. By exporting green LOCAL, energy independence to small towns and cities around the world, along with improved sanitation and clean water, we can create a whole world of what we now consider to be "middle class", which is to say, "consumers" as well as fellow citizens of the world.
It is crucial to the development of the new Obama Administration's future success in economic recovery that they understand this concept.
A "mere" billion US dollars could build 1000 small biodiesel facilities all over Africa. Go ahead, try to put 1000 "pushpins" into a map of Africa. If you actually attempt that exercise (try it in your classroom if you are a teacher) you will be amazed at just how completely transformational that one move of international economic development could make.
PLEASE, PLEASE, be sure your friends know about this, and even more importantly, make sure your elected officials are aware of it, and are pushing the Obama Administration to adopt this kind of GLOBAL GREEN ENERGY POLICY.
Thanks, and I hope you enjoy(ed) the video.
Sincerely, Love and warm wishes,
Stafford "Doc" Williamson
http://energy.psyrk.us
Although it should be embedded below, in case the page composer software at the American Chronicle syndicate of web sites does not like that code, here is another link to see the video described above.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE4IDHX91LM
Okay, back to T. Boone. As I´ve said before, T. Boone stands to benefit substantially from folks adopting his "Pickens Plan", but in the meantime, Boone says he has had to put his wind farm project into slow because with his plan to make this a 30% equity, 70% borrowing financing he can´t find credit (so he says, presumably he means he can´t borrow at a rate that is sufficiently favorable for his taste or that works under any credible financial projections for the project). That really is sad. However, T. Boone says that Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is the only way to power large transport trucks other than gas or diesel. Battery technology hasn´t advanced to the point where power density to weight is efficient enough to work with heavily loaded semi-trucks. Hydrogen fuel cells suffer a similar problem, and, T. Boone concludes, therefore, only CNG remains. There is no question that CNG is remarkably clean burning. T. Boone quotes a figure of 80% cleaner than diesel. But is it GREENER? Well, not if you are talking about biodiesel. Not even for syndiesel derived from green organic sources of biomass. I´m not saying he is intentionally lying … except … well, how could he "forget" about biodiesel?
SunFuel Hawaii is looking for land, and surprisingly, there´s quite a lot available on the Big Island (of Hawaii). They originally asked for 37,000 acres in an application to lease from the government, but now are willing to settle for something in the range of 6000 to 8000 according to the report from Honolulu TV station KGMB . Company spokesperson says they want to grow eucalyptus trees on land currently leased for cattle grazing. Some ranchers worry that the trees would reduce the grass available for cattle, but others are eager to share as SunFuels proposition is that they could produce 13 million gallons of biodiesel annually, enough to supply the Big Island.
Demand for canola oil for food use is keeping it out contention as a feedstock for biodiesel, which since the food oil commands a price premium would not be something to make anyone unhappy, or so one would think. But that´s not exactly the case. You see, down on the farm, a man´s gotta have somethin´ to complain about, so a report in the Alberta Farm Express bemoans the lack of penetration for canola oil into the biodiesel market.
Now I lived in Alberta a couple of different times (well, 4 different times, actually) for a good number of years, and I can tell you, truly, that this kind of news is just not that unusual! I had just forgotten how sometimes the vagaries of farm life in general, and the weather in particular can leave a fellow feeling pessimistic on the sunniest of days. It´s something I am pleased I had forgotten, but it doesn´t mean I don´t understand.
The news from Colorado is encouraging this week. Solix has reportedly raised a second round of funding amounting to US$10.5 million and an additiona US$5 is to build a pilot plant in Durango. Although one reader of the article in the Colordaoan (online) commented that it was kinda dumb to build a green energy plant so far from any significant market, they precisely missed the point. The land is being provided by the Ute reservation. The Ute tribe were among the first investors in Solix as the article sidebar explains, and even then the whole first phase will not take up the 10 acres which will also hold a significant expansion as phase two. Being a "small" plant it is almost ideally suited to the modest needs of Durango and the Ute nation. Which brings me to the second interesting part of the sidebar on this story.
Bohemian Investments of Fort Collins, CO, and a British venture capital firm calling itself I2BF put up "Series A" funding. Bohemian already had a member on the board of Solix. "First-round" Funds came from Valero Energy Corp. and Infield Capital of Boulder, CO. Valero is part of the vast Valero Energy company that owns or operates 18 refineries in the US, Canada and the Caribbean as well as marketing retail petroleum products under its own name, and Diamond Shamrock, among others. Valero now also has a member on the Solix board. The Texas based oil refiner and retailer is consolidating under the Valero brand and putting less emphasis on being a discount retailer.
That may be true, but the recent drop in the price of a barrel of crude oil is having a significant effect on the price at the pump for conventional unleaded gas, as well as petro-diesel. The odd part concerns Valero´s position in our local market. I pass several Shell Oil stations quite frequently. In the last few months they have appeared to be leaders in the downward progress of gasoline prices here in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Today, for instance, I was surprised to see that they were offering unleaded regular for US$2.17. This was surprising because my wife mentioned that she had bought gas from Costco a few days ago at US$2.19 when most stations were charging US$2.25. QT (aka Quik Trip) is a discount retailer in this market, and their price today was US$2.23, I actually purchased my gas at Costco today, and the price was, again, US$2.19, but the unusual point I am trying to make is that if Valero is trying not to emphasize their discount status, why is it that on my way home today, BEFORE I bought my gas at Costco, I saw a Valero retailer offering his regular unleaded gas for just US$2.15. It seems unlikely that Valero is going to shed its reputation as a "discounter" if they just keep being the low price leader.
Oh, and while we are on the subject of the LESS THAN US$60 per barrel prices of crude oil, I revert once more to T. Boone Pickens who in the same interview predicted that oil will be back in the US$100 per barrel range within a year. Bad news for consumers, but good news for alternative fuel makers, scientists and distributors that.
I was going to leave out entertainment news this week, but despite the beyond the range of average taste targeting of this movie, I am going to have to recommend it. Synecdoche, New York is the latest offering starring quirky favorite (and Oscar winner) Phillip Seymour Hoffman in a film by director, Charlie Kaufman who had tackled and wrestled with (not always successfully, in my opinion) some tough, quirky material before. He wrote the screenplays of several "big" movies, most effective of which was the Nicholas Cage vehicle, Adaptation , which, to demonstrate how quirky he likes his material, is a movie about an UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT to ADAPT a non-fiction book into a screenplay. Robert McKee, one of the real-life characters in the film was giving a seminar in the next meeting room when I was in New York recently. But I digress. On the other hand, that´s exactly the kind of multi-layered, convoluted, non-linear timeline and semi-plotless plot found in this movie.
Hoffman does a good job, but you´d expect that from an Oscar winner, wouldn´t you? Another Oscar winner, Dianne Wiest plays Millicent Weems, an actress who takes on the role of Ellen Bascomb, which in the film is originally "played" by Hoffman, himself, though without costume or makeup because the character of Ellen is an "off-stage" presence in Hoffman´s character´s ex-wife´s life. (I TOLD you it was quirky! And it gets more confusing if you are just reading about it here because …) Eventually Wiest and Hoffman switch "roles" in the play Hoffman´s character is directing, which is the really brilliant turn by Wiest. She does an excellent job of capturing Hoffman´s character. Samantha Morton who recently played Mary Stuart in Elizabeth:The Golden Age was excellent in her role as "Hazel", the Hoffman character´s true love (don´t worry, it´s obvious from the first moment they are on screen together). But I warned you it got "worse" because the other performance that particularly impressed me was by Tom Noonan who plays "Sammy" an actor Hoffman´s character hires to play himself (Hoffman´s character, not Hoffman) in the "documentary" play he is producing and directing. Again, Noonan not only captured Hoffman´s character very well, but acts as the Hoffman character´s alter ego for much of the story that mingles "real" life with the "reality play".
Okay, you´ve had plenty of warning, but if the "artistic" appeals to you this film will too.
Oh a "good news" bright note to finish, I just discovered (next to my own video´s spot on YouTube.com) a short video of Dan Reicher of Google and Howard Learner of the Environmental Policy and Law Center in which Mr. Reicher is addressing their 15th annual conference. The narrator points out that in addition to calling for a nation renewable energy standard, Mr. Reicher has warned that policy makers should not use the current economic crisis as an excuse to postpone action on renewable energy. He quotes Rahm Emauel as saying, "In crisis there is opportunity," and goes on to say, "I think in this economic crisis there is extraordinary opportunity to really fix our energy situation." Mr. Reicher also goes on to cite a quotation from a conference last week in Washington in which, "the question was asked, ´Will this economic crisis be the end of clean energy technology, or will clean energy technology be an answer to the economic crisis?´ I think the conclusion of that conference was the it could be the latter, if we really got our policies right … if we focus on the opportunities clean energy can produce in terms of jobs, of security and of environmental protection."
Sincerely,
Love and warm wishes,
Stafford "Doc" Williamson
Join the Green Energy revolution.
http://energy.psyrk.us
Vitally important to both ECONOMIC RECOVERY for America and the world, Green Energy Policy and implementation must include two elements: Closed Loop Energy Life Cycle considerations, and GLOBAL DEPLOYMENT.
Climate change is a global problem, and the best way to address this issue, while at the same time creating vast new export markets for American products is to export our GREEN TECHNOLOGIES to the underdeveloped countries of the world IMMDEIATELY they are developed. By exporting green LOCAL, energy independence to small towns and cities around the world, along with improved sanitation and clean water, we can create a whole world of what we now consider to be "middle class", which is to say, "consumers" as well as fellow citizens of the world.
It is crucial to the development of the new Obama Administration's future success in economic recovery that they understand this concept.
A "mere" billion US dollars could build 1000 small biodiesel facilities all over Africa. Go ahead, try to put 1000 "pushpins" into a map of Africa. If you actually attempt that exercise (try it in your classroom if you are a teacher) you will be amazed at just how completely transformational that one move of international economic development could make.
PLEASE, PLEASE, be sure your friends know about this, and even more importantly, make sure your elected officials are aware of it, and are pushing the Obama Administration to adopt this kind of GLOBAL GREEN ENERGY POLICY.
Thanks, and I hope you enjoy(ed) the video.
Sincerely, Love and warm wishes,
Stafford "Doc" Williamson
http://energy.psyrk.us
Although it should be embedded below, in case the page composer software at the American Chronicle syndicate of web sites does not like that code, here is another link to see the video described above.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE4IDHX91LM
Okay, back to T. Boone. As I´ve said before, T. Boone stands to benefit substantially from folks adopting his "Pickens Plan", but in the meantime, Boone says he has had to put his wind farm project into slow because with his plan to make this a 30% equity, 70% borrowing financing he can´t find credit (so he says, presumably he means he can´t borrow at a rate that is sufficiently favorable for his taste or that works under any credible financial projections for the project). That really is sad. However, T. Boone says that Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is the only way to power large transport trucks other than gas or diesel. Battery technology hasn´t advanced to the point where power density to weight is efficient enough to work with heavily loaded semi-trucks. Hydrogen fuel cells suffer a similar problem, and, T. Boone concludes, therefore, only CNG remains. There is no question that CNG is remarkably clean burning. T. Boone quotes a figure of 80% cleaner than diesel. But is it GREENER? Well, not if you are talking about biodiesel. Not even for syndiesel derived from green organic sources of biomass. I´m not saying he is intentionally lying … except … well, how could he "forget" about biodiesel?
SunFuel Hawaii is looking for land, and surprisingly, there´s quite a lot available on the Big Island (of Hawaii). They originally asked for 37,000 acres in an application to lease from the government, but now are willing to settle for something in the range of 6000 to 8000 according to the report from Honolulu TV station KGMB . Company spokesperson says they want to grow eucalyptus trees on land currently leased for cattle grazing. Some ranchers worry that the trees would reduce the grass available for cattle, but others are eager to share as SunFuels proposition is that they could produce 13 million gallons of biodiesel annually, enough to supply the Big Island.
Demand for canola oil for food use is keeping it out contention as a feedstock for biodiesel, which since the food oil commands a price premium would not be something to make anyone unhappy, or so one would think. But that´s not exactly the case. You see, down on the farm, a man´s gotta have somethin´ to complain about, so a report in the Alberta Farm Express bemoans the lack of penetration for canola oil into the biodiesel market.
Now I lived in Alberta a couple of different times (well, 4 different times, actually) for a good number of years, and I can tell you, truly, that this kind of news is just not that unusual! I had just forgotten how sometimes the vagaries of farm life in general, and the weather in particular can leave a fellow feeling pessimistic on the sunniest of days. It´s something I am pleased I had forgotten, but it doesn´t mean I don´t understand.
The news from Colorado is encouraging this week. Solix has reportedly raised a second round of funding amounting to US$10.5 million and an additiona US$5 is to build a pilot plant in Durango. Although one reader of the article in the Colordaoan (online) commented that it was kinda dumb to build a green energy plant so far from any significant market, they precisely missed the point. The land is being provided by the Ute reservation. The Ute tribe were among the first investors in Solix as the article sidebar explains, and even then the whole first phase will not take up the 10 acres which will also hold a significant expansion as phase two. Being a "small" plant it is almost ideally suited to the modest needs of Durango and the Ute nation. Which brings me to the second interesting part of the sidebar on this story.
Bohemian Investments of Fort Collins, CO, and a British venture capital firm calling itself I2BF put up "Series A" funding. Bohemian already had a member on the board of Solix. "First-round" Funds came from Valero Energy Corp. and Infield Capital of Boulder, CO. Valero is part of the vast Valero Energy company that owns or operates 18 refineries in the US, Canada and the Caribbean as well as marketing retail petroleum products under its own name, and Diamond Shamrock, among others. Valero now also has a member on the Solix board. The Texas based oil refiner and retailer is consolidating under the Valero brand and putting less emphasis on being a discount retailer.
That may be true, but the recent drop in the price of a barrel of crude oil is having a significant effect on the price at the pump for conventional unleaded gas, as well as petro-diesel. The odd part concerns Valero´s position in our local market. I pass several Shell Oil stations quite frequently. In the last few months they have appeared to be leaders in the downward progress of gasoline prices here in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Today, for instance, I was surprised to see that they were offering unleaded regular for US$2.17. This was surprising because my wife mentioned that she had bought gas from Costco a few days ago at US$2.19 when most stations were charging US$2.25. QT (aka Quik Trip) is a discount retailer in this market, and their price today was US$2.23, I actually purchased my gas at Costco today, and the price was, again, US$2.19, but the unusual point I am trying to make is that if Valero is trying not to emphasize their discount status, why is it that on my way home today, BEFORE I bought my gas at Costco, I saw a Valero retailer offering his regular unleaded gas for just US$2.15. It seems unlikely that Valero is going to shed its reputation as a "discounter" if they just keep being the low price leader.
Oh, and while we are on the subject of the LESS THAN US$60 per barrel prices of crude oil, I revert once more to T. Boone Pickens who in the same interview predicted that oil will be back in the US$100 per barrel range within a year. Bad news for consumers, but good news for alternative fuel makers, scientists and distributors that.
I was going to leave out entertainment news this week, but despite the beyond the range of average taste targeting of this movie, I am going to have to recommend it. Synecdoche, New York is the latest offering starring quirky favorite (and Oscar winner) Phillip Seymour Hoffman in a film by director, Charlie Kaufman who had tackled and wrestled with (not always successfully, in my opinion) some tough, quirky material before. He wrote the screenplays of several "big" movies, most effective of which was the Nicholas Cage vehicle, Adaptation , which, to demonstrate how quirky he likes his material, is a movie about an UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT to ADAPT a non-fiction book into a screenplay. Robert McKee, one of the real-life characters in the film was giving a seminar in the next meeting room when I was in New York recently. But I digress. On the other hand, that´s exactly the kind of multi-layered, convoluted, non-linear timeline and semi-plotless plot found in this movie.
Hoffman does a good job, but you´d expect that from an Oscar winner, wouldn´t you? Another Oscar winner, Dianne Wiest plays Millicent Weems, an actress who takes on the role of Ellen Bascomb, which in the film is originally "played" by Hoffman, himself, though without costume or makeup because the character of Ellen is an "off-stage" presence in Hoffman´s character´s ex-wife´s life. (I TOLD you it was quirky! And it gets more confusing if you are just reading about it here because …) Eventually Wiest and Hoffman switch "roles" in the play Hoffman´s character is directing, which is the really brilliant turn by Wiest. She does an excellent job of capturing Hoffman´s character. Samantha Morton who recently played Mary Stuart in Elizabeth:The Golden Age was excellent in her role as "Hazel", the Hoffman character´s true love (don´t worry, it´s obvious from the first moment they are on screen together). But I warned you it got "worse" because the other performance that particularly impressed me was by Tom Noonan who plays "Sammy" an actor Hoffman´s character hires to play himself (Hoffman´s character, not Hoffman) in the "documentary" play he is producing and directing. Again, Noonan not only captured Hoffman´s character very well, but acts as the Hoffman character´s alter ego for much of the story that mingles "real" life with the "reality play".
Okay, you´ve had plenty of warning, but if the "artistic" appeals to you this film will too.
Oh a "good news" bright note to finish, I just discovered (next to my own video´s spot on YouTube.com) a short video of Dan Reicher of Google and Howard Learner of the Environmental Policy and Law Center in which Mr. Reicher is addressing their 15th annual conference. The narrator points out that in addition to calling for a nation renewable energy standard, Mr. Reicher has warned that policy makers should not use the current economic crisis as an excuse to postpone action on renewable energy. He quotes Rahm Emauel as saying, "In crisis there is opportunity," and goes on to say, "I think in this economic crisis there is extraordinary opportunity to really fix our energy situation." Mr. Reicher also goes on to cite a quotation from a conference last week in Washington in which, "the question was asked, ´Will this economic crisis be the end of clean energy technology, or will clean energy technology be an answer to the economic crisis?´ I think the conclusion of that conference was the it could be the latter, if we really got our policies right … if we focus on the opportunities clean energy can produce in terms of jobs, of security and of environmental protection."
Sincerely,
Love and warm wishes,
Stafford "Doc" Williamson
Join the Green Energy revolution.
http://energy.psyrk.us