 June 1, 2016 - 9:42pm | I know that the notes on Clarion say that there is "liitle demand for the burnable products of petrolium", but stop to consider: Clarion is as close to the perfect generator of petroleum as a planet could get. Millions of continuous years of planet-wide vegetable matter would result in untold trillions of cubic feet (or more) of oil reserves. And that's not counting natural gas that also forms in oil reserves. The better part of four centuries of petro-chemical extraction makes for a lot of gasoline and natural gas. Even if the gasoline isn't the primary produce it still would add up over all that time. Basic economics says that whatever is abundant is cheap. Whatever is cheap tends to get used over whatever is relatively expensive. Surely therefore Clarion would have lots of IC engines to burn that fuel, even if only to make room in the tanks for more of it from continuing production. I don't see them just dumping the stuff, not and maintain a supposedly "pristine" world. A planetary flora-mass that big would easily be able to handle the CO2 emissions, especially since mosses are such efficient "scrubbers" of contaminants. Other than "tone" (ie, "it's the future, therefore all motors must be electric"), what reason can you come up with for Clarion not using ICE? |
 June 1, 2016 - 11:05pm | Ok, though I always figured that they used the resource in their plastics industry. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 June 2, 2016 - 3:22am | quick answer came up with: Crude oil can be used to make a variety of products including: detergents, fertilizers, medicine, paints, plastics, synthetic fibers and synthetic rubbers The long answer for Clarion is one of three: Since all the planets in the Frontier are only recently settled, all of them have vast crude oil reserves and do not need to import. With more than a dozen worlds to harvest from all products made from crude oil can more easily and cheaply (main drivers of economic development) be made from other things The author hates the oil industry and wanted to put a jab into it in his game. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
June 2, 2016 - 5:38am | Ok, am I misunderstanding how petroleum "cracking" works? I get that the primary desired resource is chemicals for plastics, etc, but isn't gasoline a byproduct of those processes? |
June 2, 2016 - 12:41pm | Depends on the heat, catalyst, detergent, and process used as to what you get. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
June 2, 2016 - 4:40pm | Fluid catalytic cracking produces gas and LPG. Hydrocracking produces jet fuel, diesel, naphtha and LPG A lot varies on process and chemistry used. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 June 7, 2016 - 6:12am | "The only industry of any size on the planet is petroleum refining. Although there is very little demand for the burnable by-products of petroleum in the Frontier, the wide variety of plastics created from the oil are in great demand." I never took that as a writer forwarding a political opinion. It seems to me simply to say that Frontier technology has abandoned burning petroleum for more effective power sources, like atomic power. In the mid-twentieth century everyone dreamed of having portable fusion reactors powering cars and houses. |
 June 7, 2016 - 11:28am | "The only industry of any size on the planet is petroleum refining. Although there is very little demand for the burnable by-products of petroleum in the Frontier, the wide variety of plastics created from the oil are in great demand." I never took that as a writer forwarding a political opinion. It seems to me simply to say that Frontier technology has abandoned burning petroleum for more effective power sources, like atomic power. In the mid-twentieth century everyone dreamed of having portable fusion reactors powering cars and houses.  Joe Cabadas |
June 7, 2016 - 11:59am | Too bad cold fusion is a pipe dream. |
June 7, 2016 - 12:03pm | Exactly. The Mr. Fusion gag has its basis in twentieth century scientific speculation. |
June 7, 2016 - 5:24pm | Forget cold fusion, I want a pair of those glasses Doc is wearing! I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
