Canada BS Thread

Meh, I hear anyone can afford a Tacoma so that's not that much money.

 

He'll probably just pay cash otherwise he wouldn't do it

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/oilsands-keystonexl-dead-low-oil-1.3312494

 

Quite frankly, if Keystone XL is politically stalled or dead, because the pipeline route would risk contaminating ground water, or the US is truly trying to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels all together - its the right decision. I suspect I may have high ideals though. A safe pipeline route is far safer than shipping by barge or rail.

 

I think it may be a sign of the times as far as the point where fossil fuels expansion is nearing its end of cycle and we move to different energy sources

 

and by end of cycle I don't mean this year , I mean a shift out of expansion of fossil fuels over the next few decades and focus on expansion in other areas

 

We will still need oil for plastics and other composite material construction. Even if the fuel side disappeared there would still be 10-20% of the demand left over for those uses.

I think there is a chance we may be seeing the earliest signs of oil not being the go to fuel for political reasons in the USA but it will be at least a decade before there is something viable to replace it's use in cars.

The other thing people are forgetting is that right now electrical production is cheap because natural gas prices are extremely low. Electric cars look great because the USA is switching to natural gas power generation which is cheap. Not only does natural gas still produce GHG's, albeit at a a lower rate per joule than Diesel or Gasoline, but it is also an expendable resource. Sure, the USA is also expanding nuclear power, but reactors will have to be converted to Thorium within 20 years at current global Uranium consumption rates. Lots of data out there shows that Thorium converted reactors would basically need to be rebuilt from the ground up which will take time and have it's own teething issues. If someone doesn't crack fusion wide open soon or come up with a similar massive leap forward the world may be forced to fall back on oil in 20-30 years as natural gas prices and other sources costs rise if stored electricity becomes the new power source for cars.

 

I saw an interesting article a few days ago that talked about the energy economy of the next 50 years. It was pretty bleak because the technology we have now would not sustain our level of energy consumption and growth much past that point even with Coal, Natural Gas, and Nuclear sources becoming more prevalent over other traditional fossil fuels.

It mentioned a few things I didn't know too, like the fact that the airlines produce about 25% of the GHG's right now. If you shut down air travel you could meet just about every target these conferences talk about, but I doubt people want to revert to a pre jet age world.

 

I would agree. It's going to take a long time for any type of transition to become entrenched, but it has to start somewhere. When it begins, there will be impacts. They may be negligible in the grand scheme of things, yet very significant on a project by project basis.

 

Thats why I said the start not the end

 

I foresee a combination of hydrogen fuel cell and battery vehicles pushing the change. Unfortunately both vehicles will only make our energy use more efficient and not ween us off fossil fuels. Hydrogen and electricity production will come from natural gas conversion and natural gas burning respectively, which will only give us 10-20% reductions in GHG and leave us dependent on an expendable resource.

The bottom line is we need to start building Thorium reactors (new liquid metal bismuth designs that are very efficient and safe but revolutionary in design) and dumping trillions into Fusion energy again if we want to have a system that works on hydrogen and batteries that actually does what we need it to in order to preserve the planet.

 

I know you are well read enough to know what I'm talking about. A lot of people aren't though. I wonder how many people actually know how nuclear power works, let alone Thorium liquid metal reactors or Deuterium Fusion reactors.

 

When I said the start of a move away from fossil fuels , I don't mean so much as a literal exchange of one technology for another as much as a shift in thinking about moving policy / decision making toward alternate energy solutions instead of continual investment in expansion of fossil fuels / oil , ie the acceptance that the status quo won't work forever in the context of heightened awareness around climate change

 

Interesting

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/lithium-batteries-shipping-pollution-1.3311780

 

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...ir-identity-before-they-lost-power-hbert.html

 

Oil tanker ban on BC's north coast

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...r-traffic-moratorium-bc-north-coast-1.3318086

 

Hello Vancouver Island Members!!

Looking to try and get up to Oliphant Lake by victoria this weekend and play around up there.

Plan is to meet at 12:45 Serious Coffee Mill Bay

Run should be done sound 445-5 (returning to Serious coffee)

Not sure what we will encounter - I have a stock ranger tagging along but if it gets too rough he will hop in with me for the rest of the way (small lift and 33's).

Matt

 

Can't make it this weekend but will keep an eye out for future trips - especially when the snow starts falling at higher elevations. Also for trips mid-island, I have access to Island Timberlands gated property.

props for disclosing that there will be a Ford joining in.

 

Sounds good! Looking to get the new coilovers installed and test them out - how far mis island we talking? Ive only been up to lake Cowichan and Jordan River. I really want to get access to some of the locations SE of Nanaino or NE of Comox to look for some marmots!

 

Making a wrong, right again.
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/british-columbia/trudeau-orders-kits-coast-guard-open-1.3318028