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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (5765)	4/16/2007 3:29:32 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24241

Provost gives options for oil Sarah Alfaham Issue date: 4/16/07 Section: News An oil shortage is very possible in the near future, according to David L. Goodstein, vice provost at Caltech University. "If President Bush can realize we have a problem, all of us can realize it as well," he said on Thursday in McMaster Hall. According to Goodstein, in the 2006 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush said "We're addicted to oil." In the 2007 State of the Union, Bush proposed various methods to bring a 20 percent oil reduction by 2017. Although the methods are baby steps to solve our problem, Goodstein said, at least there are steps being taken. "Civilization as we know it will come to an end some time this century when fuel runs out," he said, "but I hope that I'm wrong." He encouraged anyone in the room to find an alternative. Goodstein is also the author of the book "Out of Gas: the End of the Age of Oil," the same title as the lecture. Goodstein talked about what the oil situation is now, how the oil can be used up soon, who uses the oil and what alternatives can be taken. "It took hundreds of millions of years [for Earth to] make the oil, and we've used half of it in about 100 years, which makes us look bad," Goodstein said. According to Goodstein, technology equals discovery and the increasing price of gas makes it easier for oil companies to look for more oil. "Technology could fix [our problem], but we're not doing it," he said. There are pros and cons to the alternatives to oil, Goodstein said, such as coal, nuclear energy and conservation methods such as hybrids, fuel from plants and efficient buildings and factories "Fusion is a great hope for the future," Goodstein said, "but there's no success so far." Alternatives for transportation can include advanced batteries, hydrogen and other fuels. "Transportation is difficult because you can't run airplanes or cars on fusion energy." Many people attending the lecture agreed that action should be taken soon to solve this problem. "I think this talk points out that we might be in trouble a lot sooner than other people think," said Jon Bjorkman, an associate professor of physics and astronomy. Matt Eshleman, a professor in the philosophy department, has studied this subject for the past five years. "The U.S. population compromises of 5 percent of the global population, yet we consume 20 to 25 percent of the world's energy," he said. "In other words, we are energy gluttons." Sara Rother, a graduate student in astrophysics, came to the event because she was interested in finding out about alternative fuels. "One day when I actually have money, I really want to buy a hybrid car," she said. For now, she walks or rides her bike to class when the weather is nice. The lecture was sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Sigma Xi Research Society. Between 65 and 70 people attended the lecture media.www.independentcollegian.com