I wrote: It will cost a great deal to dig up the old tanks at gas stations. >
Note that you cannot leave them in the ground these days. There is an EPA rule: http://www.epa.gov/oust/pubs/20annrpt.pdf This is a sensible, good rule. Most EPA rules are "common sense written into regulations." That is how an electrician I know describes OSHA rules. He says, "if you don't already do that stuff, you are likely to kill yourself sooner or later." I have seen several tanks removed. It takes a crew of maybe 4 people one day for a small gas station. My guess is that costs about $10,000. They do not want to say: http://www.envirophase.com/envirophase-services/gas-station-tank-removal-services.html Oops. I was wrong. It is more like $35,000: http://www.linkedin.com/answers/administration/commercial-real-estate/ADM_CRE/514280-24293391 There are 164,000 gas stations: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/facts/2008_fotw548.html This is going to add up to a lot of money. $5.7 billion. Plus we have to pay for all those refineries and pipelines. Scrapping oil tankers probably pays for itself. The steel used in ships is good quality. $5.7 billion may seem like a lot of money, but the direct cost of coal, oil and other fossil fuels is roughly $1.9 billion per day. That's the fuel cost alone, not including the cost of pollution and war. Cold fusion will reduce that to $0. So we will be able to afford the clean up. We have to pay these costs sooner or later. We can't leave the tanks underground and let the refineries rust. Think of all the real estate that will be opened up as gas stations are abandoned. They are ugly. Good riddance to them. It is a shame all those people will lose their jobs. - Jed
