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Originally Posted by ASU2003
...The US will be in trouble when gas prices get to $10/gal. They've gone up 300% in the last few years, and unless the Canadians can find an environmentally friendly way to extract oil from the oil sands, it seems like every other country that has oil could stop selling it to us for any number of reasons.
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Well, I got this post off of the latest "Don't buy gas for a day" thread, and I wanted to chime in:
In Northern Alberta, there is a huge booming economy surrounding the "Tar Sands" in Fort MacMurray (sp? McMurray? Damned Scottish). There is more oil up there than in Saudi Arabia and Iran combined.
Problem is, it is very expensive to extract. It takes the energy of 1/3 of a barrel to get the other 2/3 out. If you were to give me a business proposal like that, I would laugh at you to your face. Unless we are talking about oil, and the price of a barrel is over 60 bucks.
Well, although extracting crude from the oil sands is now economical, it is still not efficient, and prices will stay at 70 bucks a barrel unless we can find a way to make the whole process much more efficient.
Will the big Nuclear Powered monster save the day?
To extract the oil from the sand, you need energy in the form of steam. This steam breaks down the viscosity of the crude oil, and voila! It flows like molasses in June instead of January. (sorry, it is monday morning and my analogies are a little rusty from the weekend). Nuclear power is simply a big steam generator. That steam is usually directed to electric turbines to produce electricity, but there is nothing stopping the steam from being used for other purposes.
Politically, will this possibility be able to turn the tide for Ol' Glowy? If I could promise 40$/bbl oil ad infinitum, and tell the American public that they can finally cut their dependence on international oil, would that help people who are critically opposed to Nuclear Power?
The Candu reactor is safe. There are vast resources of Uranium in Canada. What are we waiting for?
Oh. Right. Nuclear power is a subject that energy strategists ignore when they talk about energy shortages.
I am in favour of it, and think it is not only feasible, but almost inevitable. I would love to hear what my fellow TFP'ers have to say!