The Energy Net
Abalone Editorials
Let's Have an Energy Debate
Energy Impacts
Fire to Fusion
$50 Billion for Diablo
Nuclear Terrorism
 

Let's have an energy debate


For the last 30 years, Car companies, Oil Companies and Electric Utilities have been attempting to kill the public's right to know where they are taking America's energy policy to.

The general perspective is to let the experts do their job. But then we have recently seen what this means in terms of the California Energy Crisis. Their agenda speaks loud and clear: First, remove anyone from the debate or decision making process you disagree with or expands the spectrum of options by labeling them as radicals, communists, liberals, environmentalists etc. then once they're gone, push through the usual agenda.

Energy giants and their allies have been able to spin public opinion in two directions at the same time: appearing to support alternatives, while doing nearly everything in their power to keep real alternatives from advancing, with the usual claim that they are too expensive to implement. Then they get congress and government agencies to fork over the cash to support their agenda.

So let's have an energy debate before the cycnicism gets so thick it requires medical attention! Even though California's soundbite executives are pushing to get the little guy to pay for the state's energy fiasco. So let's either let the president set sail for a brave new energy policy, or stand up and get some results.

The Great Energy Debate

Mr. Abraham's speech befor the March 19th U.S. Chamber of Commerce focussed on many energy issues. He threw out a lot of impressive numbers about energy usage trends, but he also called attention to the fact that our importation of oil has security implications for the country!

So lets have a debate about just one issue here, and throw out all the other energy related issues.

Let's just look at the impacts of our reliance on foreign oil to drive our vehicles for whatever reason we want to do every day. The average american relies on their car to sustain their lifestyle. It has been the part of the American Dream for nearly 100 years now.

During that time, the U.S. has developed the largest industrial infrastructure the world has ever known with the steel, car, concrete and oil industries that make it possible for us to own and operate cars.

This industry has been the driving force the financial growth of the country. However, our demand for oil, has slowly overtaken the natural resources available here. According to Department of Energy's figures, we will be importing nearly 64% of our needs by the year 2020, while it stands at over 50% at the present time.

To put this in perspective, our demand for oil is the single largest economic drain, with billions of dollars leaving the country

The simple truth is that we are reliant on foreign oil, because we of how much oil we use, and have used up most of our accessible, quality oil already. According to studies done 20 years ago, our oil supplies peaked in the early 70's and are rapidly being depleted.

Yes, there is lower quality grades of oil out there, but those cost a bunch to clean up before use, or if we get down to business and remove all our environmental standards we can start going back to the good old smog days of L.A. fame in the 1960's where folks would pass if they opened their car doors or windows.

There is still higher grades of oil in Alaska and off the coasts of California. But the quantities that exist still won't make us even close to being self-sufficient.

What are we going to pay to keep the oil flowing?

Since when have you every seen the price of oil go down and stay down? Hmm?? Go to the feds website on oil prices and take a look. Prices used to be less than 20 cents a gallon across the country 40 years ago. They aren't gonna ever be that cheap again, cause for one thing we have to deal with the rest of the world and they are wanting a piece of the energy pie too.

Just think for a second, if everyone in China used the same kind of energy and other natural resources as we do in the U.S. it would be the equivalent of having 20 billion people on the earth as they use 10 times less energy as we do, but that is changing really fast. They like our technology and want cars, TV's, refrigerators and good paying jobs too, and are gonna get these things very very soon.

The demand for oil has become a lifestyle addiction, and it isn't going to go away overnight or for that matter a long time, cause there isn't a single political leader in this country with the honesty to really put this before us in a way that is responsible or carries the least bit of a vision.

Eventually we are gonna have to bomb Saudia Arabia or start forcing other societies to go back to the horse and buggy age or there is gonna be an energy crisis. America and Europe is rapidly becoming part of a much larger world all wanting what we use and have. AND ITS HAPPENING REALLY FAST!!!!

Here's a 12 year old perspective on the continuing problems we face with oil. From Fire to Fusion: Oil our energy addiction Note, that it is currently being updated for interactive use.

Military sollutions

According to the Center for Defense Information, the the U.S. spends more money on military development than the rest of the world combined. According to studies done in the 1980's, which are still appropriate, the amount of money we currently spend policing the middle east would add nearly $70 per barrel of oil.

A few years back, the U.S. experienced a near depression because of conservative tinkering with the economy, including their massive increases in military spending. We became the largest debtor nation in the world primarily due to our trade imbalance with the OPEC producing countries.

The car/oil cartel continues to ignore the greatest source of energy with the cheapest pricetag: ENERGY CONSERVATION.

Oil Policy Debate

 

Politics as usual used to be that the Republicans would come out swinging for the big business agenda, but as a result of the corruption of political finances, the Democrats have become even more deadly as they promise to fight the corporate/republican agenda, but then compromise consumer rights into nearly the same or worse predicament, by demoralizing nearly everyone with their slide into big money games.