[Rockhounds] Bakken Formation => burning petroleum

[Alan Silverstein]

> Petroleum is made of irreplaceable hydrocarbons.  We can make plastics
> and other durable things of it.  Instead we burn it.  Why?  Because
> it's there...

I beg to differ.  Long-chain fatty acids (hydrocarbons) are an EXCELLENT
mobile fuel source.  Nothing much but H and C, both oxidize well with
atmospheric O2, high energy density (9 KCal/g), lots of flavors ranging
from lard to methane, very stable, relatively safe.  Even a hydrogen
fuel cell used as a "battery" typically doesn't run on H2, but on some
kind of HC where they extract the H.

Ethanol, carbohydrates, etc, are poorer because they are already
partially "burned" (contain O).

I read recently that even today, oil has 50-150 times the energy per
mass as the best (lithium) batteries.  That's a main reason why purely
electric cars are not strong competitors.  The way I see it, voltaic
cells and oil molecules are both just batteries of different kinds...
We can't get more efficient than "nanoscale batteries" in the form of HC
molecules.

Furthermore, while we are dipping unsustainably into the planet's fossil
fuel bank balance, we are not even halfway through the supply.
Unfortunately, we ARE done getting all the cheap/easy/clean stuff, and
demand continues to rise with population and lifestyle.  What's the
answer?

I say what we need is an efficient way to convert sunlight, H2O, and CO2
into oil.  And biology is the way to do it.  We just have to
tame/design/engineer plants that can do it for us.

Unfortunately I don't see a lot of drive in this direction, nor much
clear thinking about the subject.  (I Am Not An Expert But...)  So what
can anyone like me do?  Well, I'll proselytize like this now and then.

Cheers,
Alan Silverstein