As the price of oil marches inexorably toward $80/bbl, I notice the Bush Administration seems blithely unconcerned. But I did catch a snippet of one the Emperor's speeches where he actually touted energy conservation. The gist of it went something like, "when the price of energy gets so high that folks can't afford to heat their homes, Americans will find ways to conserve."

It was a wonderful statement of the obvious. When Gas hits $4 a gallon, we won't be going out much, anymore. We'll be turning our thermostats down to 66-degrees in winter, and wearing sweaters indoors. We'll keep our air conditioners turned to 85 degrees in summer. We'll still spend more on energy, but it'll be so dear that we'll try to stretch every drop.

It'll do more for Energy conservation in this country than all the Government and Private conservation programs combined.

Clever idea. Let things go to hell in a handbasket. We'll adapt.

Nice to see you again.

He is obviously full of it, because any economist could have told him that as the price of energy increases by one unit (pick one) then demand for energy will only fall (.3) even at the peak of the energy shortage in the 1970's much less now when everything is made from petroleum products. What he is really saying is that when the price of energy gets too high we will allow drilling anywhere in the USA and we will not object to using the polluted coal reserves nor nuclear energy.

And he is also saying that as petrol increases the free market will be more willing to pay for alternative sources of energy making the energy companies come out of the closet with their more costly, but cleaner fuels. I might agree with this if it didn't mean so much death in the interim!

If the USA replaced all of its coal power plants with nuclear power plants, that alone would reduce total USA CO2 emissions by more than 30%.

I hope we stop objecting to the use of nuclear energy, I think our opposition to nuclear energy is a big part of today's problems. The USA has increased coal burning by 400 million tons per year since 1980 because we stopped building new nuclear power plants.

Coal power plant emissions include radioactive particles....

Nuclear power plant waste is very small compared to coal plants, and it can be stored in safe locations, until our technology advances to the point where the radioactive isotopes can be neutralized Transmutation of Nuclear Waste

France gets over 75% of its energy from nuclear power. If France can do it, the USA certainly can... after all, the French are using American Technology in their nuclear plants.


if it didn't mean so much death in the interim!

You got that right!

The free market is a proven concept - it works... But, uncontrolled markets are brutal.

The difference between the conservative view and progressive view of free markets is like the difference between the brutal games in the ancient Roman Colosseum and today’s modern Olympic games, with their rules of fair play.

The Republican economic agenda is based on the belief that economic hardship - cruelty - is a necessary part of the free market.

Republican capitalism has become something like a militant religion. The far right believes in using the military to "protect" their "national interests" - their profits!

The conservatives have become like the people who sat in the ancient Roman Colosseum, caught up in the excitement of the brutal fight taking place in front of them - it is barbaric!

What can we do?

We need to invest in our technology, including safe advanced nuclear energy. We need to upgrade the national electric grid to support plug-in hybrid vehicles, and then get serious about biodiesel, and synthetic fuels.

Solar energy is advancing, but we need to get serious about investing in it. Also, the new nanotechnology holds promise for new battery technology that would be far beyond anything we have today for storing electricity - we need to support nanotech research.

We need to put a tariff on imported oil. The politicians won't do it. The people need to demand it as a grassroots movement.

A tariff on imported oil would drive the price up - hold it there - reduce consumption without causing the price to drop - then biofuels and synthetic fuels would be able to compete.

The money from the oil tariff should be invested in new energy technology research, or as rebates for new plug-in hybrid vehicle purchases... something other than paying for "nation building" countries that we have blown up!

Well you are absolutely right about nuke plants. France made her commitment in the 60s, and use "breeder reactors" which gets rid of the waste by reprocessing it and extends the energy output of the initial fuel rods.

I think the oil companies put the fear hysteria into America with Three Mile Island, which, if nothing else, proved that a properly designed reactor (read: Not a Chernobyl style of which America owns ZERO) can withstand an accident WITHOUT significant release of radiation.

Question: How many people have died as a result of 50 odd years of nuclear plant operation?

Answer: ZERO

http://www.uic.com.au/nip14.htm


Question: How many people have died in fields involved with the production or refining of coal, oil, natural gas, firewood?

Answer: I dunno, but it ain't zero.

And I like your statement, "The difference between the conservative view and progressive view of free markets is like the difference between the brutal games in the ancient Roman Colosseum and today’s modern Olympic games, with their rules of fair play."

So true.

We could sure use some referrees in the Globalization Game.

jeffmoskin -

I knew someone would appreciate that analogy!

Another one I like to use compares the principles of economics with the principles of electricity:

Laissez-faire capitalism is like raw lightening - incredibly powerful and destructive, but it is fast.

In contrast, a modern "managed economy", based on free-market principles but well regulated, is like a complex electronic instrument. The electricity flows through the circuits and components, allowing for the control of amazing detail and results.

Compare a new desktop computer with a bolt of lightening. Both can demonstrate the principles of electricity, yet with very different results.

Hey, we can do this. Transparency, integrity, and vision... mostly vision... where did the vision go :o What happened to the vision <_<

More nukes - Yes, I want one in my back yard!

You said, "I think the oil companies put the fear hysteria into America with Three Mile Island".

You know, this may be true. The more I learn about nuclear power, the more I wonder, "what have we done to ourselves?" Why did we become so afraid? The destruction of the world trade center was in many ways worse than Chernobyl, but we did not turn against the airline industry - we have not stopped the development of airplanes.

With a nuclear powered grid and Plug-in hybrid vehicles we could eliminate all oil imports. In fact, the fuel efficiency of the Plug-in hybrids is so incredible that we could easily produce enough ethanol to provide the fuel when we don't use the battery.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

The biggest problem is that as soon as somebody proposes a viable non-oil based economy, the Saudis turn the knob and flood the market with cheap oil, killing the competition. It costs them $1.00 a barrel at the well-head!!!

That's all. Just a buck.

How do you advance technology with that sword hanging over your head?

Well, here is the deal. If you vote for the Libertarian that was recently a CGCS guest "speaker"... then forget about energy independence and study Chinese, you will need it someday to get a job in Wal-Mart.

However, if we the people realize that "This land is your land, This land is my land, From California To the New York Island, From the redwood forest, To the Gulf stream waters..."

Then maybe we could act in concert, kind of like a real country would do, you know, like the Chinese and the French, people like that...

Then maybe we would take Adam Smith's suggestion and "Act In Our Own Selfish Interest"... put a tariff on imported oil... $1.00 per gallon - $55 per barrel above whatever the importer is paying for it.

And never, never, never take the tariff off!

I think that both a tariff and a tax on emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases would make sense.

Government can back certain research and infrastructure projects. But in the end I think that creating market incentives is the best way to go to energy independence and a more environmentally friendly energy system.

Arneoker -

The problem with a tax on emissions of CO2 is that biofuels emit CO2, but they take CO2 out of the atmosphere when the crops are grown to make the fuels. That is why biofuels are considered climate neutral... the net CO2 in the atmosphere is not increased when biofuels are burned.

The reason why I would prefer to support a tax on imported oil from countries outside of North America, is because the tax would create a "level playing field" for alternative fuels.... Biofuels and synthetic fuels made from domestic carbon such as coal.

Also, by only taxing foreign oil, we would not injure our own oil economy, such as California and Texas.

However, an emissions tax on electricity generation is a great idea.

I see your point, but I believe that if structured intelligently such a tax could exclude cases like biofuels. (We wouldn't want incentives to cut down all the forests to burn the trees. ) The aim would be to discourage net emissions.

It would also be nice to have incentives for net forestation, but I don't know if we could set up a system that wouldn't be scammed by the forestry industry, cutting down forests and then replanting them, claiming their incentives.

"...if structured intelligently" wouldn't that be something

Yes, I would like to see an incentive to plant more trees too.

One of the problems with biofuels is that trees are cut down to clear land for farming. Increased biofuel production could cause a substantial loss of forest, if forests were cleared for farming.

This is one reason why I like the idea of using the desert to create micro algae ponds for biodiesel production. See:
www.AmericanEnergyIndependence.com/biodiesel.html

And
www.AmericanEnergyIndependence.com/waterforall.html