An Energy Crisis of Our Own Making

IBD ^ | November 9, 2007 | Editor

[yoe]

Energy Policy: As oil climbs toward an unprecedented $100 a barrel, we can only blame ourselves. By falsely demonizing oil in the debate over global warming, we assure an energy-impoverished future.

It would be nice if we could lay this at the doorstep of just one party. Unfortunately, it's a bipartisan mess, created by politicians on both sides of the aisle who are being stampeded into action on climate change.

Take Rep. Bob Inglis, a Republican from South Carolina. He says he realized something needed to be done when his own children threatened to vote for his opponent if he didn't take on the warming issue. Based on this valuable input, Inglis has deduced that Republicans will "get hammered" if they don't do something.

Excuse us, but we'll all get "hammered" if they do.

As Weather Channel founder John Coleman said this week, global warming is "the greatest scam in history." Literally thousands of reputable climatologists agree with this.

Yet fear of warming is giving rise to all kinds of bad ideas that will cost hundreds of billions of dollars and deliver very questionable benefits. These ideas include "carbon" taxes on all of us and "windfall" profit taxes on oil companies, bans on drilling for new oil in Alaska and off our coasts, and expensive new mandates — such as higher fuel economy for cars — to reduce "carbon footprints."

If elected president, Sen. Hillary Clinton wants a $50 billion "strategic energy fund," paid for with oil company profits, to bankroll lots of pork-barrel projects that will waste money but produce no new energy. Not to be outdone, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's energy plan hits middle-class Americans with $15 billion in new taxes to boost renewable energy.

[yoe]

Global warming is a scam - our need for energy is not....Carbon Credits??? Give me a break - oh by the way I have a bridge you might be interested in.....

Hillary health care and Hillary energy care are both pipe dreams of 60s activist who has never left her Marxist beginnings..........America can't afford another Clinton experiment...i.e., Social Engineering. And America can’t afford another administration who is afraid to buck the Environmentalists and Zero Energy Wackos……Drill we must.

[edcoil]

“we can only blame ourselves”

Don’t say we cemosabe. Put the blame where it goes, wacko envirogroupps, communists, American haters and our own government.

[azhenfud]

If we are really experiencing global warming, then it’s reasonable to deduce we WON’T BE BURNING quite so much heating oil and gas this winter.

[jdm]

ping

[milwguy]

and drill some more, and drill some more. The only carbon we should be reducing it the stuff coming from the Hildabeast and Goracle’s mouths.

[thulldud]

Take Rep. Bob Inglis, a Republican from South Carolina. He says he realized something needed to be done when his own children threatened to vote for his opponent if he didn't take on the warming issue.

I, for one, will be voting for any opponent he has.

In the primary.

[yoe]

It's "Kemo Sabe", and I love it......the we is the same we that do little to stop "wacko enviro group’s, communists, American haters and our own government." We allow them to ride rough shod over the lot of us because they are together and we are not and of course the MSM loves the Bush Basher and Anti American……lets ban together and in this case – Energy – let our elected know we want to drill for oil NOW. Alternative sources will continue to be tried and at some point some will be successful but until then, WE NEED TO DRILL NOW! Shut off the Politically Correct/Environmental Whacko Valve now/today…..treat those folks like the plague….they are indeed killing us.

[Judges Gone Wild]

The Republicans had the presidency and both houses of Congress and refused to even consider lifting the ban on drilling in ANWAR or removing the moratorium on drilling on our 3 coasts. The last thing the oil companies want is more supply. They’ve got us over a barrel.

[backhoe]

Droppin' out of Lurking & Linking Mode

for a rare bit of commentary...

What we should have been doing all along is what France did ( Google Super Phoenix Program ) after the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo- launch a co-ordinated program of energy independence.

 

 

From my "Sticker Shock- $3 a gallon gas?" post...

I have covered, ( Or, as Seamole puts it... -backhoe's pseudoblog--... ) pseudo-blogged, these issues for years, and I can tell you this-- we all need to get serious about our dependency on foreign sources of energy, and use our own resources.

Our civilization is built upon ubiquitous, reliable, and preferably affordable energy-- it all depends on a free-flowing river of power

Our consumer-based economy is driven by and dependent upon readily-available, reliable energy-- choke that off, and we'll all be back to using one rotary dial phone in the dining room, watching one TV in the living room, and driving one car per family-- probably a Nash Metropolitan...

We need to

1) end the nonsensical ban on offshore drilling off California and Florida--read and weep:

Castro Plans to Drill 45 Miles from US Shores, But We Can't

2) build a lot of next-generation nuclear power plants, not just for electricity, but for any process requiring heat, power, or steam.
And if we replaced our existing nuclear plants with this one there would be significant benefits.

3) end Jimmy Carter's idiotic ban on recycling nuclear waste, and reprocess the stuff rather than fighting over where to bury it. Europe has done this for decades.-- what to do with spent nuclear fuel? Answer here:

 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1468321/posts?page=50#50

hattip: Mike (former Navy Nuclear Engineer)

4) use the 300-500 years worth of coal we have on our own land, using the new clean-coal technology.
-Clean Coal Centre--

5) and finally, there's nothing wrong with conservation, we should all practice it- but you can't conserve your way out of a shortage. Nor is there anything wrong with "alternative" energy sources- except they don't supply the vast ( not to mention readily-available ) amounts of power we need at a price competitive to more conventional sources. Then again, there is this to ponder:

Energy From the Gulf Stream
http://www.energy.gatech.edu/presentations/mhoover.pdf

Not to mention, this new idea:

Irish Ready To Harness Tidal Power

We do need to get serious about this before we get strangled by a bunch of petty thieves and dictators who don't like us much.

My collection of energy-related links:

Sticker Shock-$3 a gallon gas? Click the picture:

And kindly note, and note well-- the first reply to this post ( when gas was $1.45 a gallon ) was derisive... so, who's laughing now?

( And, to honk my own horn, here is a comment from another board on this subject: )

I happened to be going through a post by "backhoe" and followed his link to a thread he posted on 3-17-04. Pretty good thread titled "Sticker Shock-$3 a gallon gas? Some links" that was prophetic, and what do you know, the first reply was Why don't you stop panicking and solve problems that exist posted by "XXX" Backhoe has some very good posts, he mostly lurks and when he does post it is worth the read. From the reply that"XXX" made he appears to be something of a corn-fed kneejerker, even more so with two years to prove how right "backhoe" was.

Vest-Pocket Summary:

1- drill for gas and oil like crazy- onshore, offshore, and in Alaska
2- go nuclear for power
3- convert stationary plants to clean coal technology or Next-Gen Nuclear
4- slash taxes and regulations like crazy...

[phs3]

Does anybody know where Thomson stands on this, I cant find anything?

[phs3]

or o these...


http://www.pbmr.com/

[Red Boots]

The last thing the oil companies want is more supply. They’ve got us over a barrel.

This ignore that fact that there are many small companies that would love to drill and offer more supplies - they like to make money too. But they can't because there are so many regulations that only big companies can afford the regulatory divisions that are necessary to comply.

We'd have plenty of oil, if the government would just get out of the way.

This is a government caused shortage. It has nothing to do with oil companies.

[edcoil]

Thanks for the spelling -

Government will support anything that supports bigger government and this is the newest. It is a battle but the minority seems to be winning since the gov is pre-disposed to this type of action.

[The Great RJ]

So far the Democrat's solutions to our energy mess:

• Blame the oil companies and give them punishing taxes which will just mean even high prices for consumers.
• Pour money and resources into feel good projects like windmills and ethanol that have no chance of even making up a fraction of our energy needs.
• Command the automakers to make cars averaging 55 mpg without giving any consideration as to what that would mean for the auto buying public i.e..drastically higher auto prices, much smaller cars and more highway deaths.
• Add higher taxes to gasoline to save the planet from farcical global warming
• Forbid the development of known large domestic sources of energy for ridiculous environmental reasons.
• Blame Bush for the mess

[bboop]

He listens to his KIDS??? They are totally being programmed at school. His job is to teach them the truth. And how to think clearly. sheeeshh.

[jrsmc]

The price in 1980 peaked close to $100, if I remember correctly.

That is equivalent to $250 in today's dollars, adjusting for inflation.

By comparison, oil today is cheap.

[backhoe]

or these...http://www.pbmr.com/

Yep- pebble bed reactors, and standardized modular designs are the way to go for the future.

[cinives]

Why don’t you send him a little “be a grownup and stop listening to childish propaganda” note in the meantime ?

[jnsun]

Good Job, from the technical perspective.

But there is one thing that gets me, the psychology of it all - it is increasingly apparent that "we", that is the US and the politicians who decide (e.g. the CFR), as an individual independent nation, really do not want to solve energy dependence.

This is the globalist agenda.

Conservatism is the opposite strategy, whether in one's own life or in a nation's political strategy. That is to objectively muster one's own resources so as not to be dependent on other (diverse) entities. That is not isolationism, just good sense conservatism.

This is not the agenda of the globalists.

In a very real way it is nationalism versus an open world.

But as Mexico, and the illegal who urinated against the wall of our local convenient store the other day, shows, we (US) have no where to go but down in that global theatre.

[phs3]

Now that would be a Marshal Plan for the US I would get behind.
Build these nukes, Drill where where ever populations are sparce, and drill off shore.

Then, Hey Abdul, go drink that oil. Bottoms up!!!