Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125845
e nergy co nservation, a return to Daylight Savings Time, and sw itching electrical utilities from oil to coal. - Gasoline: after the refinery shift, gasoline shortfall will equal about 1.2 million barrels per day (about 19% of demand). This shortfall will be met by drawing down inventories and by conservation actions, including the mandatory 55 MPH speed limit; the Sunday gas station closings, and other voluntary measures, including the ten gallon per purchase limit. The aim of all of the conservation and gasoline allocation programs is to spread the shortage equally and equitably. We hope to avoid gasoline rationing and the inevitable administering bureaucracy and confusion it would en tail. With full voluntary co o pe ra tio n , we probably won't need rationing. We are carefully monitoring the situation, however, and checking for abuses such as long waiting lines or p rice gouging. Why are pr ices so high? Prices have risen . Gasoline, for ex ample, has gone from 25.3 cents per gallon (before taxes) one year ago to 33 .5 cents now. This is a 32% increase in one year. To explain these increases, you have to first understand how price controls work for petroleum. The Cost of Living Council control system for petroleum was designed to meet the two objectives of controlling inflation, yet not stifling d o mestic production. To m ee t these goals a two-tier system was established: oil already being produced (old oil) was controlled, while prices of newly discovered and produced oil were left uncontrolled to encourage domestic production. Of our total supplies of available crude, 51% is controlled old oil, 28% is imported and not subject to controls, and 21 % is new oil, or oil from stripper wells (10 barrels/day or less) which was decontrolled by act of Co ngress. In addition to crude oil, we import substantial amounts of refine d product so that imports now actually account for 38 percent of our total consumption. Much of the p rice increase is the result of actions by the O rganization of Petrole um Exporting Co u ntries. The p rice of crude oil from these countries nearly tripled in 1973. Ca nada, though no t a m emb er of OPEC, also increased the price o f the o il she sells us by raising ta riffs. If these import prices hold , and we impo rt in 1974 a t the sa me rat e as 1973, the U.S. bill for im p orted oil would rise from $7 billion to $21 billion . T here is a lot of co nce rn about t he e motional price levels the O PEC nations are now asking and receiv ing for t heir crude oil, a nd the hardsh ips that these hig her prices will generate. We expect to mitigate the price hardships t hrough adjustme nts in our income m ain ten ance programs. The unpleasant truth, howeve r, is that the era of cheap petroleu m-derived energy is over. It's becoming increasingly apparent that if we 're going to preserve "the good life"' in this country, we will have to make some far- reaching changes in our idea of what "the good life" is. What happens in the long ru n? We've been slapped awake to an energy shortage. Our rude treatment at the hands of the Arabs (Isn't America still the biggest, strongest, and richest country in the world?) may be helpful - it may have come soon enough. Between now and 1980 we plan to spend a great deal of Federal money $ 10 billion - on energy research and development. We have to do four things to solve our energy problems in the interim: 1) 1n cr e ase the production of domestic oil and natural gas as rapidly as possible. This means more drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf (bu t no more "Santa Barbaras"). It means another Alaskan pipeline fo r natural gas, and maybe another one for oil. It means m o re domes tic refineries. 2) Increase the production and use of our do mestic coal and our shale oil resources. We have 17 percent of t he energy we consume. Until 1947, coal provided m o re than half the energy used in this country, but it has gone down eve r since. We need to use mo re of this coal. We have to figure out how to m in e it more efficiently and safely with less environmental damage. We have to develop, test, and implement technologies for t urning the coal into liquid a nd gaseous fo rms so that it can substitute for oil and natural gas. We have substantial reserves of oil locked in shale in our Western states, something on the order of 700 billion barrels, which is enough to meet all our petroleum needs at current usage rates for 100 years. We must find efficient ways of getting oil out of the rock without leveling the Rocky Mountains and using up all the water in the Colorado River. 3) Expand the generation and usc of nuclear fission energy as rapidly as possible. The problems of safety, ther ma l pollution effects, and - disposal of radioactive wastes will have to be settled, because nuclear power is dean otherwise and we have several thousand years wort h of ura n ium ava ilable. We already have th e bulk of the wo rld ' s nuclear electric genera ti ng pla nts, b ut they still p rovide o nly o ne p ercent of our total energy usc. 4) Most im p o rt an tly , we have to decrease, or level off, our growing rate of energy usc. This can be done o nly by b uilding cars, applicances, h om e s , office buildi ngs and designing industrial processes tha t usc energy mo re efficiently. Co nservation has to become a daily part of everyone's life . 1t means smaller cars and probably greater use of street bikes, as soon as the pollution problem is solved. It means more recycling of everything: paper, aluminum, glass, the works. It may well mean less vehicle-based recreation, fewer dune buggies, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, campers. It probably means a "change in lifestyles", but nobody can detail for you just what that phrase means. The art of social prediction is still in its infancy, and very chancy. In the really long run, lots of other energy sources arc being developed fusion, fast breeder reactors which p roduce mo re fuel than they consume, solar energy, geothermal energy, a nd other exotic energy so urces hard to spell a nd ha rder to explain like magneto hyd ro dy namics. We can't afford to overlook any potential so urces. We have to cover all the b ases wit h research m o n ey . There arc lo ts of other questions th a t arc bei ng asked, w ith ou t any good answers ye t: How d id we really ge t into th is m ess anyway? How m u ch money should t he oil co mpanies be a llowed to make? Can y"u really develop fuel out o f animal manure? The most important question, though, is th is: Can we pull together, cut o ut our wasteful ha bits , and come through this a better and stronger country? T he jury is still out on th is o ne, but we're strongly positive. Haven't we met? If not , please, come in and chat in Southern California's friendliest and most beautifu l motorcycle agency. We have a complete line of Yamaha dirt and street bikes, and accessories for everyone : trail riders, motocrossers, street riders and cate racers. We have met? Please, pass the good word. @ Wheels 01 Fortune Yamaha 20820 South Avalon Boulevard, Carson, California (213) 532-7070 at the Carson Mall, San Diego Frwy @ Avalon Blvd. While th ey last - Dy na mite De n ims Regularly $19.95 & $21.95 Now $15.60&$17.45 TED EVANS • 13347 W. Washi ngto n Blvd ., Marina Del Rey (21 3) 3 90-3406 Year End Clearance Sale All New .Motorcycles BSA 500 MX $ 1149. Pursa ng 250 1045. Alpina 250 887 . Pursang 175 9 16. Pursang 125 877 . CZ 125 . . . .....• ... .. . 800. CZ 400 1175. Husky 450 CR Husky 4 50 DM Husky 125 WR ' Husky 400 CR Rickma n 250 MX Rickma n 125 MX 1305. 1432. 1014. 1469. 925. 800. ~~tr.~t,'t.~~\. ~ 'f>.\\~v,. ~ "\\\'" Lea rn how to tune bikes from the BURAK TUN ING SCHOOL for a pro fitable ca reer or hobby. ~UL-T~C= • Bulta co Internat ional Ltd. BURAK BYE-PRODUCTS P.O . Bo x 62547 Vir ginia Beach . VA 23462 15170 Raymer 51. • Van Nuys. C~ (213) 780-1768 9