I have been married nearly 40 years now, and I dearly love my wife, but even an old-timer like me likes to hang on to the exciting memories from the good old days. Today, I caught myself thinking about my earlier loves. Claudia was the first.Claudia was a very cute blonde: Petite and sorta giggly. About 17 years ago I saw Claudia again. At the time, I was hosting a booth at a home and garden show. I was a Realtor with ReMax. I had a big inflated balloon behind me. I also displayed several signs with my name on them and some others that encouraged passers-by to stop and discuss their real estate questions.Then a short, fortyish, blonde stepped up and asked, “Are you Dave Thyfault?” She was accompanied by a teenager, presumably a daughter. I assumed the woman knew me from some of my marketing material, so I confirmed her suspicion. Then she shocked me when she said, “I am Claudia W.” (last name withheld to protect the guilty)I didn’t know what to say, but I have to admit I was a bit excited. I said “Claudia!?” (What an idiot, she just told me that!) Anyway, we said hello again, and I told her I was shocked she still remembered my name. Her exact reply is vividly in my mind, “A girl remembers the men in her life" she replied.Her teenaged companion looked at her and then looked at me. Then she looked back at her mother and yelped something like, “EEEEEEEW”.It was nice to see Claudia again. The last time we had seen each other we were 7-years old and in the second grade. We never kissed or held hands or anything like that, but we definitely had a crush on each other.
More "juicy" stories to follow.
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If you are like me, you believe that our country’s dependency on foreign oil is dangerous. An enemy could surely bring us to our collective knees if that supply were to be cut off. I have also wondered why we don’t develop the resources we have in Alaska or off the three coasts. And, then there are those other ideas about conservation and developing worthwhile alternative fuels. Well, it simply got to the point where I decided to do a little research and get my own answers. Here are some interesting things I learned.
• According to The US Energy Information Administration, our county consumes more than seven-billion barrels of oil each year. That means each one of us (man, woman and child) consumes approximately 20 barrels of oil each year.
• Each of those barrels is 42 gallons and when refined produces 20 gallons of gasoline plus additional petroleum products. Therefore our typical tank of gas (about 15 gallons) requires approximately 30 gallons of crude oil.
• When you hear politicians suggest that we buy the bulk of our oil “from countries who do not like us very much” they are twisting the truth. For starters, we actually generate about 40% of our own oil. Of our imported oil, we get the most from Canada. After that, 4 other countries each send us about the same amount. They are Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Africa. We get along fairly well with our primary suppliers with the exception of Venezuela. However, most of this conversation is a mute point because we never really know exactly whose oil we are buying. It is all a part of the same commodities market. So the fact that we get most of our imported oil from Canada and Mexico is mostly a matter of shipping costs. But the basic point is refuted because we get most of our oil from ourselves and relatively good friends. In another odd twist, we actually export some of our own Alaskan oil to Taiwan, China, Japan and South Korea
• Various batches of crude oil get mixed at refineries and during shipping. The same goes for batches of refined gas. Therefore the gasoline sold at a particular gas station is not necessarily refined by that same company.
• The US has plenty more untapped oil. If we continue to import 60% of our oil, we have a 25-year supply from oil sands, which is what we get from Canada; and, we have an additional 30-year supply in the Outer Continental shelf (OTC); and we have about a 4-year supply in Alaska.
• It was wrongly reported by Dr. Leigh Price, in a study in year 2000, that there may be as much a 400-billion barrels of “potential resources” in an area in North Dakota and Montana known as the Bakken Formation. New studies by U. S. Geological Survey reveal the actual number of recoverable barrels is closer to several billion. There is also nearly two-trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 148 million barrels of natural gas liquids. All of that is available right now.
• Terriadaily is among those wrongly suggesting there may be as many as 1.2 TRILLION barrels of oil hiding in shale in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah in an area known as Green River Basin. Other people have suggested there is enough potential product in the area to provide for the US oil market for at least 100 years. However, those estimates appear to be wildly exaggerated. In fact an article by Fact Check which also references studies by Snopes, have the available oil way, way lower (interestingly, both Fact Check and Snopes are challenged in a readers comment at the end of the article). There is a bit of good news in the mix. It has been speculated that one-million barrels per day might be retrievable in twenty-years, but that is still only 365-million barrels per year or 7% of what we use. Until more studies are completed there is no reason to expect much more from these fields.
As I see it, we have a hand-full of primary options or any blend of them:
1) If we remain on the same path, we will be desperately low of oil in about 20 years. However, if we develop our currently known resources that remain untapped, our supplies will last at least 50 years. But either of these choices leave us vulnerable to the whims of other countries as we continue to send enormous amounts of our money to them.
2) If we are willing to reduce our percentage of imported oil from 60% to 25% we have enough for 30 years. In this case we can eliminate all of our suppliers, except for Canada whom we clearly consider our friends.
3) If we want to rely exclusively on our own oil, we have only enough for about 20 years. It would take at least 5 years to get wells pumping and refineries constructed.
4) Technology could improve and make the Bakken or Green River Basin, more productive.
5) The US has substantial amounts of natural gas. If we can build a good distribution system and exploit this fuel we could indeed become energy independent for 100 years or more.
The bottom line is we do not have to be dependent on foreign energy forever. By developing these sources and alternate sources of energy we can avoid the other suppliers or at least force them to lower their prices.
Good article about untapped reserve. Listen to this podcast by USGS about Bakken reservesWikipedia has good stats about BakkenWe have 100 years of natural gas in LouisianaIt is getting easier to process shale.
comment below
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Greetings,
I have just completed writing a book about family finances and I am looking for a couple of people who would like to read some or all of it as amateur critics.
There are 44 brief chapters, each one consisting of approximately 3-4 typed pages.
The book is broken into 3 sections:
1) The first section is about the PAST and the Worst Things on Which We Waste Our Money, sometime without even knowing it.
2) The second section is about the PRESENT – things you can do right now to improve your financial status both immediately and in the long-term.
3) The FUTURE addresses the financial implications of the things that come up from time to time, like getting married, buying cars, applying for new jobs, renting apartments, and traveling.
Here are a few things you will learn:
1) How saving just $4 per day, out of the money you are now wasting, can generate $465,000 for your retirement
2) Why every dollar you spend has a FOREVER interest expense attached to it
3) Who is looking inside your credit report without your permission
4) Is college really worth the money
5) Why you should always have some sort of self-employment project (working on computer, writing a book, making calendars, part-time maintenance company, travel expert, recipe tester etc.)
6) The best ways to lay out budgets and follow them
7) How to deal with bankruptcy, foreclosure or restructuring debt
8) How much it costs to raise a child or own pets
9) The two “hidden” expenses to everything you buy
10) How to get more money at job interviews and how to get raises
11) A very simple three-step program to take you to financial security and wealth
12) 32 advanced credit strategies that will take your credit score to elite status and help you qualify for loans with the lowest possible interest rates
I am looking for constructive recommendations. Things like “this section is too wordy” or “you have said that too many times” or “I had to read this section 3 times before I really understood what you were trying to say” or “Why didn’t you talk about ____” . or “this idea needs more development” or “this is improper grammar” etc.
If you would like to read one or more sections, let me know and I will send you a zipped copy.
Dave@UncleDavesRealEstate.com
