The Gas crunch?

We are faced with ever increasing oil prices and as a consequence higher gas prices at the pump. Can we save the future of our children? The greatest problem we face today is transportation, you see nearly 75% of every barrel of oil is used for transportation fuel, cars, trucks and ship and not energy production as one may have been lead to believe. The improvement and re-engineering of our transport medium should be the number one priority of every community and government on the planet if indeed we are to make a difference in this generation.

U.S. oil production peaked during the last oil crises in 1970 and has been falling ever since but consumption has increased. What was done back in the 70’s? For a while, the major US auto makers after a major upset by a small Japanese auto maker, Toyota, decided to introduce the compact automobile. For a brief period during the 70’s and the early 80’s small was in. What caused the major turn around which lead to a reversal in policy and the production of today’s gas hungry SUVs, cars and trucks?
For the last 30 years oil companies and government have know that the oil reserves would eventually run out. Thirty plus years to develop controls, energy efficiency policies and develop alternate means of fuel and transport. Today it is a know fact that world production has been drastically down since 2005 yet we still seek to discover new oil reserves; this is not the answer. Today we use a billion barrels every 11.5 days. So even if a company finds a field with five billion barrels (a major discovery) it would only fuel the world for less than 2 months! What this means is that oil prices will continue to rise and there is nothing anyone can do. Soon we will have 1 BILLION petroleum-consuming cars on the road in just three years... and that number is expected to increase 20% by 2015, mostly fueled by growth in China.

Somehow, I don't think you'll be fueling your car with solar, wind or hydro energy anytime soon. Many years will pass before these vehicles make a global impact and by then it may have been too little too late. The technology has been with us for some time, and yet we drive cars today that consume more gas than the cars we drove in the late 70's and early 80's. What has happened, will we live to see scenes from Mad Max become a reality?
I propose small changes, simple, cheap and we can start right now. Drive free zones in every town. Most gas is consumed while sitting idle in a traffic jam or circling around looking for a parking spot or just cruising around. Create free parking lots to accommodate all vehicles within half a mile or a quarter of a mile from the center of a city or town that is known to have a heavy traffic inflow. From this point on no vehicle will be allowed in. Free electric buses will be provided for senior citizen and the handicapped all others must walk. This may not sound like a great plan but it’s a start. Here in my home town of Lajas Puerto Rico we could start with the village of La Parguera. In Cabo Rojo, Boqueron would be ideals and in the town of San German the entire historical district should be off limits to cars as well as Old San Juan. I know this can be done but who will be the first or shall we just wait until gasoline eats away at a larger part of your disposable income? For those who think that the parking lots will cost too much then think again, design lot that will function as solar or thermal collectors. Think out side of the box, do the unthinkable re-make the world we live in.
Proposal number two; no drive Sunday. No vehicular traffic at all within the town limits from 8:00 AM. To 8:00 PM. In very large cities perhaps all major avenues can be closed and only allow traffic to bypass the city. These are just two proposals perhaps someone can suggest additional ideas? I know many more ideas exist are implemented across Europe today so what are we doing here in the greatest nation on Earth?

Global Warming in Puerto Rico

Por Gerardo E. Alvarado León / galvarado@elnuevodia.com
Manatí -
La probabilidad de que el calentamiento global tenga un impacto directo sobre la calidad y cantidad de las aguas subterráneas de Puerto Rico “es muy real”, aseguró ayer el hidrólogo Sigfrido Torres González, adscrito al Servicio Geológico federal (USGS, en inglés). Torres González presentó sus conclusiones durante la 2da. Magna Cumbre Ambiental, que se celebra hasta hoy en el Teatro Taboas, en Manatí. Según el experto, el principal problema al que se exponen los acuíferos, formaciones ecológicas que contienen o transmiten agua subterránea y rinden suficiente caudal a un pozo hincado en su interior, es el aumento en los niveles del océano o nivel eustático. “Eso afectaría la interfase salina, que es el punto de equilibrio entre el agua del mar y la del acuífero. Si sube el nivel del océano, aumenta la presión sobre el acuífero y puede que se afine entre 40 y 60 pies”, dijo Torres González. Agregó que el derretimiento en las zonas polares, a causa de un alza en las temperaturas, está repercutiendo en un aumento en el nivel del océano, a razón de seis milímetros al año. Basado en resultados de otras investigaciones, el hidrólogo indicó que para el año 2100 se espera que el nivel del océano aumente en .47 metros o unas 18 pulgadas. Detalló que por cada centímetro de agua que aumente se afectarán 100 centímetros de tierra. Ante este “crítico panorama”, dijo, los acuíferos más vulnerables serían los localizados en Loíza, Carolina, Cataño, Vega Baja y Ponce, entre otros. Finalmente, Torres González mostró preocupación por el derretimiento del hielo que está sobre el agua. “Ese hielo se formó sobre el terreno y, cuando se derrita en el océano, liberará una alta cantidad de material orgánico”, expresó. Ese material, sostuvo, se descompondría en un par de días y formaría metano, uno de los gases que propicia el calentamiento global. “Me preocupa la magnitud de ese flujo. El mar siempre va a reclamar su tierra y podría estar dando con las montañas. Pero lo importante es reconocer que sí hay una anomalía... lo peor sería no atenderla y que suceda”, apuntó. Dos grandes riesgos En un tono menos alarmante, aunque de igual preocupación, el experto mencionó que las aguas subterráneas en la Isla se exponen a dos grandes riesgos: extracción excesiva y contaminación. Al igual que las aguas superficiales, los acuíferos se originan de la lluvia abundante que cae y es absorbida por el terreno. Pero en tiempos de sequía, primordialmente, se sobrecarga el acuífero y aumentan la energía requerida para bombearlo y el costo de producción. De otra parte, agregó Torres González, la contaminación de las aguas subterráneas se debe a la presencia de compuestos tóxicos provenientes, en primer lugar, del sector industrial, uno de sus principales usuarios.