Fiddling With Alternative Fuel While Rome Burns - My $0.02
Simple, concise and strategic. But not so in the U.S. where our politicians endlessly debate alternative fuel sources and vie for their favorites (read “special interests”) to get all the federal funding.
Oil companies want oil to remain “the” transportation fuel source unless they get distribution control of the alternatives; farmers want ethanol to play a big part even though, at best, it can only supplement oil; solar panel makers aren’t sure exactly how they might power autos but they want in on the apparent “green energy” boom; battery manufacturers have been challenged to make cells that provide greater driving range and cost efficiency than are available today; and some, including Bush, want to tap the bazillion gallons of oil under our own feet, although Democrats seem bent on preventing that from ever happening.
All have a place in the solution although none alone are the holy grail of transportation fuel. Problem is, we can’t move forward with any of them until the political squabbling ends and that doesn’t appear anywhere on the horizon. Meanwhile, we’re getting skewered by our dependence on foreign oil. And while some believe we can just “wait until prices come back down” (like that will ever happen!), our politicians continue whoring around with special interests while Rome burns.
Doug
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Great post! You hit the nail on the head. I read that McCain wants to offer a huge prize for the company that comes up with a viable battery to power cars the way we drive. THAT is a proactive approach to quickly solving the problem.
But McCain isn't president, is he.
And what does Barack/Hil suggest? Don't drill.
And what does Pelosi suggest? Don't use our gas reserves now to lower prices for Americans, oh no, we would have to replace them with higher priced oil. Better to wait until oil prices come down.
Right.
It seems clear that oil isn't going to magically come down in price. The Arabs have seen what the traffic will bear. Here's what needs done now:
(1) Iraq owes us big bucks, so we should take immediate payment in cheap oil, (2) we should immediately drill our own resources, then (3) implement McCain's battery plan, and (4) order the oil companies to drop prices so they don't make such obscene profits off of Americans.
But oh golly, we can't mess with free enterprise, can we? Wake up Sheeple! It isn't free enterprise, it's racketeering, raping the public for profit!
I keep hearing about cars that run on air or water and there is that sports car that runs for 200 miles on a single charge. Why aren't more of these coming to market? Is is because the government won't support anything but the oil companies? Why not?
One thing I fail to understand is why we are still giving huge tax breaks to the oil companies. Tax breaks (subsidies) are an incentive to encourage industries to grow when they might help America but need some incentive to help them get started. They aren't supposed to go on once the industry is successful. Yet the oil companies have threatened that, if the subsidies are taken away, they will "have to" raise the price of fuel. That is obscene! We are being held hostage by Arabs AND American oil companies! You are right, that is racketeering!
That is calling it like it is!! It goes on because our politicians are all in the pockets of special interests. In the old days, it was the mob. Today it's big business but still works the same way.
Does anybody actually believe that because N. Korea axed its nuclear energy plant, it has ceased its nuclear armament program? If you do, you are hopelessly naive.
This is much more complex than people realize. You can't just adopt an alternative fuel without lots of research into its viability and practicality. And you shouldn't blame the oil companies for the high price of oil or for their profits. They are making bug profits now but they have to use them for R&D. It looks like a lot but its more like the drug companies who have to spend so much on R&D. Oil companies don't find oil in every well. Most are losers or poor producers. Stop blaming the oil companies.
And we should be looking for a clean energy replacement anyway so we can get away from oil.
Steven, you are actually a senator, aren't you? I can tell by your logic. We can't criticize the oil companies' profits (at our expense) and we can't drill because we don't like the look of oil wells, and we can't put limits on free enterprise by oil companies, and we need an alternative fuel that doesn't adversely affect oil companies, and it should be clean, but which one will help finance/assure our re-election? We need more studies, more debate, more "consideration", more arguing, more self-serving, before we can agree on what to do, so meanwhile we can't do anything.Sound familiar?
In business we call that "analysis paralysis".
A very nice article, Doug, and certainly an vigorous response. I have to agree with Marshall's suggested plan. But the biggest of all the special interests are our politicians themselves. Their self interest is what causes political gridlock. And while our political machinery is paralyzed, so too is our citizenry paralyzed with apathy.
How do we recover? We as citizens must stop selecting our representatives based on superficial criteria. A sharp suit and a smooth tongue aren't qualifications for office. That means investing time and energy toward becoming knowledgeable about national and world affairs as well as our candidates for office. Only then will we be a society capable of righting our way.
Sadly, I don't see Americans getting off their asses to do the work. We think we are doing our part by choosing some slick talker to "handle" it for us and we get what we deserve.
I am not going with a slick talker, I am voting for McCain.
That's funny.