Energy Independence

There’s an awful lot of talk about energy independence these days. It’s an important issue to say the least, but we have some problems. Of those problems, about 95% of them are political. Global warming politics are front and center in causing problems for those trying to achieve something toward the goal of energy independence.

Global warming is a political issue and nothing more. Is the planet warming? Well, probably. Does the activities of the human race have anything to do with it? No. Is there anything we can do to change the current warming trend? No. Make no mistake, global warming is a political issue, and a fake one at that, and nothing more. So what do we do about it?

Actually, there isn’t much we need to do about it, the movement is pretty much falling apart as real credible science keeps coming out showing it to be a farce. It’s only a matter of time. Meanwhile, how do we approach the energy independence problem? Actually, it’s easy to do, it’s just not easy to get people to do it, again, for political reasons.

First, just stop talking about global warming. When a politician or one of the idiot brigades starts spouting off about it just walk away laughing and shaking your head. They’ll get the message. They’re obviously ignorant, so just ignore them.

Next, start talking about energy. There are a lot of good ideas out there, and there are a lot of people doing a lot of good work toward this end. The problem is that many of them are have no credibility in the eyes of the media or the left wing noise makers who have done a fair job of defining this issue. Here is a list of some of the major players in the area of bringing new energy sources and technology online:

• General Motors
• British Petroleum
• Standard Oil
• Toyota
• Honda
• Ford Motor Company

Of course, there are a lot of other companies and entities, public and private, working toward the same goal. Some are making a real contribution, and some are just engaged in political demagoguery. Still, note the above list. The Sierra Club, Greenpeace or anyone else who’s been making a lot of noise are on it. I thinks it’s very instructive that the very people the left says are the problem are the one’s leading the way in developing the solutions.

I haven’t really studied T. Boone Pickens plan for energy independence, but I think I’ve seen enough to know I have some disagreement with it. He wants to start with wind. No, that’s just not right. Not that we shouldn’t use wind, but there are several ways to do it, and all of them need to be looked at. Also, it’s not the first thing we need to do. No, the first things we need to do are things we can start doing right now. Here’s a list:

1. Drill baby drill! Start now, do it everywhere there’s oil.
2. Start building a 15% refining capacity increase.
3. Start replacing natural gas and coal fired power plants with clean coal.
4. Start building plants enough to increase nuclear capacity by 25%.
5. Start moving at least 15-25% of cars and trucks on the road to compressed natural gas.

I think we need to start working on all five of these items NOW. T. Boone Pickens wants to start with wind, then go to CNG. No, we need to do all of the five things listed above right now. That’s step one. It’s not time for wind yet. Get these five things underway in a meaningful way, and by that I mean start building the plants, refineries, and vehicles, and start drilling. When all that is well under way we’ll talk about the rest.

Ok, so then what? Now we’re a ways down the road and we can start looking at alternative sources. Some of these are not ready, and those who are developing them should be left alone to do so. What is ready? Wind. Yes, I did say above it’s not the first thing to do, but it does have it’s place in a comprehensive energy plan, but not as a monolithic source. I don’t think huge farms of windmills across the countryside are the answer. It’s a more localized application.

Actually, I think Mayor Bloomberg of New York hit on part of it. The big megawatt windmills have their place, but it’s more like one or two in a location where they’re actually needed or where they represent a more cost effective solution. There are other appliances though, small appliances that look more like a large egg beater than a windmill, that can be placed locally on a building, a power pole, your garage, wherever. This can be done with solar panels as well, but I think at this point that technology still isn’t very efficient. Still, if you put solar panels and a windmill on top of your house you’ll be in a position to really offset a great deal of the load and the cost of getting power from the grid. A lot of people are doing this already with solar panels, but I still say solar panels are just not ready for prime time.

Electric cars? Not yet. When you can sell me an electric Chevy Malibu that will do at least 80 mph and go at least 150 miles at a time for $20,000 or less we’ll talk about it, until then, it’s just not ready to go. Hybrid? Yes, but they’re only a stop gap as in the long run we’re looking to remove petrochemicals form transportation. Hydrogen fuel cells? Yes, go talk to General Motors. They’ve already got a whole fleet of them out for testing all over the country. The fuel cell is probably the technology of the future, and it’s a lot closer than a lot of people thought, including me. Take a look here at what GM is doing: Chevrolet Fuel Cell Technology.

It’s time to throw the politicians out of the energy independence business. They need to shut the hell up and stay out of the way. If the federal government wants to help they can do these things:

1. Kill all federal taxes on all forms of energy. Don’t suspend it. Kill it, and do it now!
2. Any government official who is against any of these steps should resign now.
3. Lower taxes on everyone who pays taxes, and stop giving refund checks to people who don’t.
4. Sit down, shut up, and stay out of the way.

That’s what I think anyway. What do you think? I know what I think kind of makes sense, and I know making sense is not very popular right now, but I can’t help it. I like to make sense.

Tags: Business, Energy Policy, Global Warming, Politics