AS the MidEast descends into chaos, it's worth noting that Persian Gulf oil is 25% of our imports of
Last edited Mon Sep 9, 2013, 06:47 PM - Edit history (6)
crude oil.
What are the odds now of a disruption of our oil supply? A loss of 10% of the imported oil supply will put us into another "recession", killing off the economic growth we are just now starting to regain. As Iran husbands more fighting in the Mideast beyond Syria's borders getting MiddleEastern oil will become more problematic. A protracted 'recession' will result in very low to perhaps zero growth of our economy with stubbornly high unemployment. Guess how that will impact investment (i.e. by consumers purchases) in the more expensive technologies for CO2 abatement such as hybrids and plug-in Hybrids.
Alas, there goes some of the 'best laid plans of men'.
.... IF only we had invested some more in alternative fuels to reduce our dependence on oil in the shorter term, then loss of oil from the Mideast would not have had such a large impact on our economy.
Methanol as an alternative transportation fuel in the US: Options for sustainable and/or energy-secure transportation
http://www.psfc.mit.edu/library1/catalog/reports/2010/10rr/10rr012/10rr012_full.pdf
Clean Alternative Fuels: Methanol EPA - http://www.afdc.energy.gov/pdfs/epa_methanol.pdf
by adding Methanol to the supply of Ethanol to be blended with gasoline we could cut our consumption of gasoline by a significant amount (20% - 30%) in the least amount of time. Thus, we could have saved the economy (from an oil supply disruption) and would have been in a better position to adopt the more expensive technologies - hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
U.S. Oil imports by country of origin: http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_ep00_im0_mbbl_a.htm
