THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 74, March 16, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
WHY IS EVERYONE LYING ABOUT ENERGY?
By Alan Caruba
INCREASING ENERGY INTERDEPENDENCE: AMERICA'S DEPENDENCE ON OIL & OUR NECESSARY INVOLVEMENT IN THE
WORLD OIL MARKET -- NO SCARCITY OF OIL & OIL RESERVES -- FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE PRICE OF OIL ON THE
WORLD MARKET -- HOW U.S. ENERGY POLICIES ARE MAKING THE U.S.A. EVER MORE VULNERABLE TO THE UNCERTAINTIES
OF THE GLOBAL OIL MARKET -- EXPENSIVE ILLUSIONS: MAN-MADE GLOBAL WARMING, HUMAN-INDUCED
CLIMATE CHANGE, & "ALTERNATIVE FORMS" OF ENERGY -- HOW CONGRESS & THE PRESIDENCY ARE SERIOUSLY
MISMANAGING AMERICA
FULL STORY:
In early March, 2008, President George W. Bush, addressing an International Renewable Energy Conference, was widely
quoted saying that the United States has to “get off oil.” Earlier he had said that America was “addicted” to oil. These are
such huge lies one wonders why he is telling them, unless perhaps he has quietly been investing in ethanol production.
For the record, “renewable” energy refers to solar and wind energy for electricity, and biofuels for transportation. None of
these options can ever be expected to provide the electric energy America uses, nor will biofuels ever replace oil for
transportation.
In one of the most brilliant analyses of America’s dependency on oil, Gusher of Lies, by Robert Bryce, the author
spells out the realities of a world in which, not just the United States, but all nations are going to be importing oil for as
long as crude oil can be pumped from places around the world that include the Middle East, Russia, Africa, South America,
and the deep ocean waters.
The problem is not a lack of known reserves of oil. The problem is the way the lack of knowledge by the consuming public
is being exploited.
Yes, the price of a barrel of oil has reached and surpassed $107, but that price is subject to a myriad of factors that have
nothing to do with scarcity. As OPEC President, Chakib Khelil, told reporters recently:
“There is sufficient supply. There’s plenty of oil there.”
He’s telling the truth. One factor is the falling value of the U.S. dollar. Oil that is priced in Euros has not risen nearly as
much.
Bryce says:
“Energy independence is hogwash. From nearly any standpoint
— economic, military, political, or environmental — energy
independence makes no sense. Worse yet, the inane obsession
with the idea of energy independence is preventing the U.S.
from having an honest and effective discussion about the
energy challenges it now faces.”
Nowhere is this more obvious in the campaigns of the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. John McCain,
the GOP nominee, is committed to the global warming hoax that is based on the lie that the use of all forms of energy is
contributing “greenhouse gas” emissions at such a rate the Earth is warming dramatically. It isn’t. There isn’t a scintilla
of scientific data to demonstrate this. It has warmed about one degree Fahrenheit — naturally — since the end of the
mini-ice age in 1850.
The Democratic candidates are no better on the subject of energy and Senator Clinton is on record wanting to seize the
profits of “Big Oil” and divert them to ever more research into alternative energy options. Take the case of ExxonMobil
whose profits — after you factor in the billions it spends on exploration, extraction, refining, and distribution—have been
the same for years, about ten percent. Over the past three years, this one oil company has paid an average of $27 billion a
year in taxes to the U.S. central government, about 41 percent of the company’s taxable income.
Bryce points out:
“The reality is that the world — and the energy business in
particular — is becoming ever more inter-dependent. And this
interdependence will likely accelerate in the years to come, as
new supplies of fossil fuel become more difficult to find and
more expensive to produce.”
”Energy independence, at its root, means protectionism and
isolationism, both of which are in direct opposition to
America’s longterm interests in the Persian Gulf and globally.”
U.S. energy policies, tragically, are leaving us ever more vulnerable to the uncertainties of the global oil market. Congress
prohibits exploration and extraction of oil and natural gas from 85% of the nation’s continental shelf. It prohibits access
to the oil in Alaska’s ANWR. It has mandated that gasoline be refined in numerous different blends and that ethanol — a
huge subsidized scam — be added to it, reducing its efficiency, while increasing its cost. On top of that, it taxes gasoline,
adding over 40 cents to every gallon that consumers purchase.
Predictably, when consumers, oblivious to the realities of the global oil market and everything else involved with
delivering gasoline at the pump, begin to complain, politicians begin to think about regulating gasoline prices. It doesn’t
work, and it will likely worsen the recession we’re in.
It was tried by the Carter administration and was a full-scale disaster. Between 1978 and 1980, thanks in part to the
overthrow of the Shah of Iran, crude oil prices more than doubled from about $9 a barrel to over $21. Back then, Carter was
advocating solar energy, conservation, synthetic fuels, and other “solutions,” but they didn’t work then, and they won’t
work now.
In terms of our enormous energy needs, Congress and the White House are seriously mismanaging America.
Energy is the “master resource.” Without it, everything else slows, stalls, and stops. The nation’s economy is entirely
dependent on our ability to function in a world where oil, natural gas, and coal are global commodities. They don’t have a
nationality. They have a price. And that is set by supply and demand, not by the U.S. national government.
The government is literally wasting billions on “alternative forms” of energy and “climate change.” It should be
encouraging the building of more refineries, more nuclear fission, coal or gas-fired plants to generate electricity, more
pipelines. It should be eliminating the restrictions on access to oil, gas, and coal within the U.S.A. and on such energy
sources from beyond our nation’s borders.
The President, the candidates competing to be the next President, and members of Congress are all lying to Americans
about the realities of energy. The situation is likely to get much worse before it ever becomes better.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
The Earth's Natural History, Global Climate Changes,
& the Future of Human Life & Civilization on the Planet:
Science, Ideology, & Public Policy
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a
clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly commentary, "Warning Signs," posted
on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center, which is located at
www.anxietycenter.com.
Caruba has a daily blog at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com.
Caruba’s new book, Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy, has been published by Merril Press.
© Alan Caruba 2008
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity