YouTube - Third Presidential Debate HQ (Part 9) "Energy, Foreign Oil" - Obama vs McCain 2008 3rd Presidential Debate - 10/15 John McCain And Barack Obama Debate At Hofstra University Hempstead New York - Third Final Debate In High Quality

McCain said in the third debate, "We can eliminate our dependence on foriegn oil by building 45 new nuclear power plants right away."

That is dead wrong (on two levels), even if you go back and assume that he was refering only to Middle East Oil and Venezuela. To show you the numbers, I'll assume that "foriegn" means only the middle east and venezuela.

We import 3,473,000 barrels a day from "foriegn" nations (meaning ME and V), that is 1,267,645,000 barrels a year. One barrel of crude (we are only taking about crude oil, not all petroleum imports) has 5,800,000 BTUs of energy. Meaning that all the oil we recieve from "foriegn" nations has 7.352341*10^15 BTUs of energy.

The average Nuclear power plant produces 1,000,000 kW of power, so 45 will produce 45,000,000 kW. That equates to 394,200,000,000 kWh each year (1 kWh = 3412 BTUs). And that is equal to 1.345*10^15 (or 18.3% of the needed energy).

The actual number that would be needed to eliminate the needs of the ME and V oil is 246 nuclear power plants, not 45.


Crude Oil and Total Petroleum Imports Top 15 Countries
EIA Energy Kids Page


The second issue with it is that Nuclear power plants produce electricity. Oil is used mostly for transportation, which with our current infrastucture (gas powered cars) can not be replaced by electricity. Once electric cars take over the roads, than nuclear power plants could be used as a substitute (however you would still need 246, not 45).


Anyone else got any completely false statements made by either of the two candidates? As in 100% false, not as in disagrees with my political views.

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Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

Yes, he means only the Middle East and Venezuela. He specifically excluded Canada.

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A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

And that is what I did with the numbers, only ME and V, and it still comes up extremely short.

__________________
Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

I like how they only talk about oil and ignore coal, which causes something like 75% of carbon emissions.

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"Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states...Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds."



~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Because we don't import coal. The issue wasn't the greenhouse gases, but the wasted money to other nations.

__________________
Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

Oh, I know, but I think the greenhouse gas facet of it is rather more important.

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"Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states...Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds."



~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

still got a couple years before the right and majority of America figure out they are wrong about that also.

First it was not happening, then it might be, then it is but not our fault, and we are moving in the Oh yea we need to do something.

Like almost every issue ever. Evolution, The Ozone, Roe v Wade, medecare, socal security.

We alwasy win it just takes time.

as Paine said "Time makes more converts then reason."

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Life is like the song "Margarittaville"

Starts with "but I know, it's no body's fault."
Then goes to "hell it could be my fault."
and ends with "now I know, it's my own damn fault."

__________________
Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides