Topic: Energy
America’s “No Energy” Policy Energy policy is finally in the spotlight again, but it is many years too late.by Mr. C
(libertarian)
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Much like monetary policy, the energy policy in this country has been absent from the political forefront until recently. For many years, our policy has been self defeating. We somehow managed to bar ourselves from drilling offshore and in places like ANWR, and then we wondered why our dependence on foreign oil was becoming such a problem.
McCain's answer is, of course, to finally open up these areas to drilling, much to the chagrin of the environmentalists. Bush even got in on the deal, trying to score political points for his legacy by allowing offshore drilling. That's all great, but it doesn't help us right now. The only influence this will have is a mental one. There seems to be a consensus that actually producing any oil from these places will take between seven and ten years, which is funny because a lot of us have wanted to drill in these places for around ten years or more. Along with drilling, it seems there's also finally a push to build some refineries, too. Two thumbs up from me, although this should have been done years ago.
Obama's answer to the energy crisis is to not allow drilling in any of these areas and to not build any more refineries. No, biofuels refineries don't count. We need stop with the whole ethanol scam anyway. I'm talking about real crude being turned into real usable gasoline. Obama's answer is to get America to stop her "addiction" on oil, as if oil is a bad thing to use for energy. He wants to focus on energy alternatives, all of which are not cost effective and would put even more strain on an already crumbling economy. So, instead of researching these alternatives while drilling for oil in our own country, he wants to NOT drill for anymore oil and just pour money into developing alternative fuels, while at the same time requiring the auto industry to double mpg ratings within 18 years. Yeah, that kind of R&D doesn't cost anything.
The bottom line is that we've had a problem with our energy policy for many years. We let special interests tell us where we could drill, and the entire country is paying for it. Obama's plans will cripple the economy even more, while McCain's will at least help us in the long run. Not that I'll be voting for either of these guys anyway
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The views expressed in this
article are those of Mr. C only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Mr. C is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Private enterprise has already came up with numerous sources of alternative energy without Uncle Sham's "helping hand".
That "hand" is too much like an iron fist for my comfort anyhow.
If Leviathan will stay out of the way of true free-market progress. energy solutions both already existing and yet to be developed will do plenty for our energy needs.
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