Re: salvation from tar pits?  From: Al Koop <> Date: Mon Jun 28
2004 - 14:58:52 EDT  Wally wrote:  Although I used hyperbole in
my post, I see 2 things worth noting.  1.) Even something that
is a fractional % of the world's demand should not be
discouraged. If that logic were followed, then one should shut
down individual oil wells one at a time.  2.) The point behind
the article at Wired was that people are working the problem and
there is some hope to increase production if technological
innovations can be  Rather than abandon hope in such things, are
they not worth pursuing?  AK: Not necessarily. There are
additional costs in obtaining energy other than just the direct
financial costs. As Don wrote: Do you want the area to look like
a moonscape?, which it does after the mining of the tar pits.
What is the value of maintaining an area in its natural state?
As Glenn pointed out, this process does use immense amounts of
water and will generate polluted water as a byproduct. Maybe
this water could be put to fa