Where does all the money go?

The cost of energy; this will make some historians chuckle and hopefully make some of you angry.
It cost Saudi Arabia $5-$12 a barrel to extract oil from 1986 to until 2002, 16yrs of steady prices.




Emerging countries saw economic growth over that period only hampered by the currency bailout in the 1990’s. Developed countries saw an overall decline of 1% over 20yrs all caused by the banking fiasco otherwise it would have been 1% growth.
Here is a quote from today’s Wall St Journal, the bastion of pure capitalism...

“Several OPEC countries have boosted spending this year to create jobs and build more housing. They therefore need a historically high oil price to cover the increased costs. Merrill Lynch said in an April research note that Saudi Arabia now needs as much as $95 a barrel to defray the costs after announcing the equivalent of $129 billion in new spending.”

While the US borrows to soften the economic impact of the downturn, Saudi Arabia and other Oil producing nations are charging us to bribe their people not to have democracy.

Does Saudi Arabia actually get $95 dollars a barrel? No of course not, how could Exxon report the single largest profits in history if it all went to the Arabs.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a capitalist, I just want you to recognize when people talk about ‘transference of wealth’ they mean they want it to continue to go to them and not to you.
So the cost of solar today per energy unit produced is high if you do not take into account 100yrs of infrastructure support from Governments for fossil fuel; the energy industry when regulated has guaranteed profits and receives between $23 and $52 dollars in incentives from government per ratepayer, per year; and new Nuclear cannot be built without government loans, insurance and guarantees, private capital won’t touch it with a ten foot stick.

I think we need Nuclear for one more generation of energy so we can develop dispatchable renewables or storage; which no energy source today has other than pump storage via fossil or nuclear. None of this broaches the subject of environmental impact, which is becoming so abundantly clear that to deny it makes you appear extreme and out of touch. So the next time someone tells you that solar is expensive please ask them in relation to what?

100 Percent Renewables: The Resources are There, Says UN Report | Renewable Energy News Article

100 Percent Renewables: The Resources are There, Says UN Report | Renewable Energy News Article

25 yrs in the making

I recently attended the SC conservation’s groups’ oyster roast. It was a fun event with a great turnout. The food, music and company were outstanding; there was also some adult beverages that I enjoyed as well.

I had a great conversation with an environmental activist who had been at it for a while longer than me.
She said that American’s use too much energy and resources, that nuclear was dangerous and things should be different. I was quietly asking myself how this socialist English boy I thought I was, was ambivalent with almost everything she said. The only way I could explain it was thus;

Feudal societies ruled Europe for much longer than our current form of democracy. Meaning 7ft dudes who were proficient with swords did very well and the rest of us fought over the crumbs. My conversation partner would likely have said nothing has changed except my liege is now a modern day CEO. As a 21st century serf I can’t help but disagree.


Most of us died before age 45 prior to democracy and fossil fuels; entertainment was watching your neighbor getting his hands cut off for stealing royal game or 12hr days fighting the elements to produce enough food to live. Your children could die from cuts, colds, malnutrition or violence and there was little you could do.

Today we use resources because we learned to utilize them. We have created modern life through cheap energy and brilliant engineering not to exploit the world but to lead, who else is creating the future?

We do need activists to stop greed and lethargy in business now more than ever but I do not believe there is an evil capitalist at the helm of earth’s future.
I see it more as a group of people trying to make their way and adjusting every 50yrs or so when and if they realize they’ve made mistakes. Feudalism and over consumption have similar paths, I believe we will eventually get it right.

My Prayers are with you and your family

I have a dear friend who has quietly been a leader for solar and other renewables since I have worked in the field. With little recognition or praise this wonderful person has persistantly reached out to people, given solid advice and has lead with integrity. Not many people I know can say the same thing. I am so sick of these two dimensional arguments about how government is ruining the country. We are the government, you your kid's school teachers, the local police, your cousin in the national guard, yourneighbor who works for an engineering company. My dear friend can always be found friday afternoons at her desk well after 5pm and yet she had a government job?! She doesn't anymore, she quit because she has morals and ethics. On the day she quit she lost her father in an automobile accident. It breaks my heart that she has to carry this burden of sadness and loss when he was only 55 and she was getting ready to embark on a new chapter in life. Her husband is a good man and a strong soul so I hope he can help her in her time of mourning. I wish the both of them the very best in their future and I want them to know they are always welcome in our home for a meal or place to rest or to share some stories. Erika was one of the first to help me when I had no friends in the industry and I'll never forget that. Arron (forgive the spelling mate) would put up with me asking for their help on weekends when Erika and I would work on Solar videos for free, because we believe in a brighter future. Thanks to both of you and God bless.