2020 INSTITUTE
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SITUATION REPORT
1. The U.S. currently consumes approximately 137 billion gallons of gasoline and over 59 billion gallons of diesel (petroleum distillate) per year. This is equivalent to 24,801,500,000,000,000 BTU per year. Though natural gas imports are increasing, our focus remains on the transportation sector as it requires importation of approximately 60% (60% figure based on the DOE Annual Energy Outlook 2005, drafted before Katrina related anomaly) of its oil needs. http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_sum_mkt_dcu_SCT_m.htm http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_sum_snd_c_nus_ep00_mbbl_m.htm
2. It is now estimated by the Energy Information Agency that 125,600,000,000,000,000 Btu will be consumed by the U.S. during the year 2020. This amount is equal to 3.681 x 1013 kWh, or enough energy to blanket the U.S. with approximately 70 billion 60 Watt light bulbs and keep all of them continuously lit for an entire year! (note: the above estimate is lower than our original EIA estimate of 131 quadrillion BTU) http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/pdf/appa.pdf Sourced from: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/index.html.
3. We believe the U.S. energy plan should be consolidated around 100% "neat" methanol as the next most effective means of energy conveyance in the transportation sector. Total independence will require significant adaptation of devices and strategy, and tremendous increases in efficiency through all sectors of the economy.
4. The 2020 Institute recommends a genuine mobilization of the country equivalent in scope to our nation's World War II "maximum effort" model. It may be necessary for the government to create milestone mandates and regulations similar to those of the CAFE standards and ADA laws. Petroleum must gradually be expunged as our nation's primary fuel source to the transportation sector. Oil cannot be reliably imported or domestically produced in sufficient quantity to assure U.S. national security and economic supremacy. In contrast, pure methanol is relatively easy to make, it can be produced on an entirely domestic basis from diversified sources, and it requires no vast infrastructure changes that fuels such as liquid or gaseous hydrogen would require. With this switch, motorists will still be able to use vehicles powered by internal combustion engines or switch to more efficient fuel cell powered vehicles as they become available in the future.As documentation in support of our agenda, we wish to submit the following web pages: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/presentations/sae-2002-01-2743.pdf (excellent source of data on performance of methanol consuming internal combustion engines) http://www.methanol.org/ (excellent source for all information pertaining to methanol including MSDS) http://www.methanol.org/pdfFrame.cfm?pdf=meth_econ.pdf (Nobel prize winner discussing the fact that methanol is a promising fuel as well as a good base chemical for industry.)