Energy Policy

PBS has a two hour documentary online called "HEAT" which discusses our use of fossil fuels.
It explores our solutions, and the lack of interest in solutions by our current administration.
"I have reported on the Cold War, the breakup of the Soviet Union, the rise of Al Qaeda, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," says Smith. "But nothing matches climate change in scope and severity."

We need to stop our Addiction to Oil and we won't do it by drilling for more

An Article from Thomas L. Freidman (Author of "The World is Flat") - And Then There Was One.
Celebrity Paris Hilton has a better idea with her "Hybrid Energy Policy".
See what you can do to Join the protest against Big Oil.
Washington Post ran this cartoon in June 2008
click for larger image.
I used to have a Washington Post link here, but they took this cartoon down. hmmmm.

What the candidates say about the energy

Here are the views as we found them on each candidate's website.

John McCain America's electricity production is for the most part petroleum free, and the existing electric power grid has the capacity to handle the added demand imposed by plug-in hybrid vehicles. We can add more capacity and improve its reliability in the years ahead. Nuclear energy, renewable power, and other emission free forms of power production can expand capacity, improve local air quality and address climate change. I'll work to promote real partnerships between utilities and automakers to accelerate the deployment of plug-in hybrids.

Sarah Palin: Palin has strongly promoted oil resource development in Alaska, and also helped pass a tax increase on oil company profits. Palin has announced plans to create a new sub-cabinet group of advisors to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions within Alaska. After she was announced as Senator McCain's presumptive running mate, she stated that "I'm not one though who would attribute it [global warming] to being man-made."

Barack Obama Our nation is confronted by two major energy challenges – global climate change and our dependence on foreign oil – both of which stem from our current dependence on fossil fuels for energy. America’s 20- million-barrel-a-day oil habit costs our economy $1.4 billion a day, and nearly $500 billion in 2006 alone. Every single hour we spend $41 million on foreign oil. America’s oil consumption increased by over 20 percent between 1992 and 2005. Our energy-related carbon dioxide emissions increased by more than 15 percent between 1993 and 2005.

Pick your candidate wisely


Be wary of anyone who still thinks Hydrogen is a fuel of the future .

Iceland's experiment with Hydrogen Fuel Cells was not successful.

Is Sarah Palin a Creationist? Does she think the earth is only 6000 years old? If so, should she be in charge of energy policy?

Letter to the Editor of the San Antonio Express-News

Published July 14, 2008

If we, as Americans are addicted to oil, then that means we have to find a way to stop our consumption of oil.
Asking the government to allow offshore drilling or to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the same reaction a drug addict would use when told he must kick his habit. He will STEAL from his friends and relatives to get more dope.

Plug-in Hybrid technology exists that will give us 100+ miles per gallon, but at the current time it requires independent conversion shops to make the hybrids plug-in capable.

Instead of asking our government to drill more oil, we should be asking our car companies to produce plug-in hybrid cars. Gasoline will never go down in price again.
David Keith on What we need to do NOW.
New Solar Panels could make Solar Energy Affordable for everyone.

Gasoline prices in Seguin, Texas

Gas Prices  
2005 $1.79
2006 $2.49
2007 $2.89
2008Jan$3.09
2008Feb$3.19
2008Mar$3.29
2008Apr$3.39
2008May$3.49
2008 Jun$3.99
2008Jul$3.89
2008 Aug$3.49
2008 Sep 15$3.55
2008 Sep 27$3.39 *

(* Even though 5 Texas refineries were shut down for a week after Hurricane Ike, and 6 platforms are missing, Gas is down so you will think gas prices are "down")
Watch for the spike in prices again once the elections are over.

Drill, Baby, Drill

It would take ten years for the offshore oil to get here. According to factcheck.org:
Why would it take so long? To vastly oversimplify: First, the government has to identify properties to be leased and hold a lease sale. Then, winning bidders need to contract with drilling rigs (all of which are booked for the next five years, according to the New York Times), drill exploratory holes and analyze core samples – "They drilled 75 holes in the North Sea before they figured out the geology" sufficiently to begin drilling productive wells, says Lucian Pugliaresi, president of the oil industry-funded Energy Policy Research Foundation Inc. And then, if oil is found, companies would have to order and put in place production equipment, build pipelines to get the oil to shore, and get various permits and environmental analyses every step of the way.

Public Relations is just a new name for Propaganda


"How Propaganda became "Public Relations" was a series on BBC that studied Edward Bernays, the nephew of Sigmund Freud. I got my degree in Psychology from U of H in 1971, and I have never seen such a fantastic explanation of how Advertisers use psychology to sell things, including Politcal candidates. Marketing Gurus taught Corporate America how to sell the masses things they don't need, by appealing to their inner desires.

On the topic of propaganda, Please read my summary of the Naomi Wolf book "The End of America", which has been made into an amazing documentary film.


What does T Boone Pickens say about reducing America's dependence on Foreign oil?

The Peak Oil Report

In May of 2008, the chairman of CERA, Daniel Yergin, indicated that oil prices could rise to $150 per barrel in 2008, and that "everyone [except Saudi Arabia] is pretty much pumping all that they can," and that Saudi Arabia has only about 2 million barrels per day of spare capacity. This is a tacit admission that oil production is peaking currently, not in 2030.

Fist, the demand for oil is outstripping the supply of oil. Since early 2005, oil production had remained on a plateau, while demand increased at about 1.8% per year, according to EIA data. As shown in the chart below, this gap has driven oil prices up, as measured in Dollars and Euros.

As soon as oil production begins to decline, the gap between supply and demand will widen and continue to widen, driving oil prices higher and higher as nations compete for dwindling supplies of the oil needed to maintain their economies.

Analysts cited in "The Wall Street Journal" indicate that Mexico could become an oil importer by 2015.

If you want to read the rest of this fascinating 48 page report you can download the PDF here.
The quick synopsis: Oil will not be coming down in price - EVER.

Tennessee Senator Knows what to do about Energy


July 11, 2008

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) on Friday told the Sumner County (TN) Chamber of Commerce that in five years many of Sumner County residents could be driving electric cars and trucks to work.

"Everyday 73,000 people in Sumner County on average spend 27 minutes commuting to work each morning and then 27 minutes again to get back home at night," Sen. Alexander said. "Within 5 years, you could be driving plug-in cars and trucks – saving money on fuel, making the air cleaner, and reducing the number of dollars we send overseas to countries funding terrorists who are trying to kill us. Plug-in electric cars and trucks are about to give Big Oil some real competition."

Last month, Alexander joined in introducing the Gas Price Reduction Act (S. 3202), which includes provisions to encourage the development of plug-in vehicles.

Specifically, the bill:

  • Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to expand and accelerate research and development efforts for advanced batteries.
  • $100 million per year for fiscal years 2010-2014.
  • Authorizes direct loans for U.S. advanced battery manufacturing facilities.
  • $250 million per year for fiscal years 2009-2013.
  • Includes a "Sense of the Senate" resolution that the Federal Government should increase its purchases of electric vehicles.

    "Sixty percent of Americans drive less than 30 miles each day," Alexander said. "Those of us who do could drive a plug-in vehicle without using a drop of gasoline. If we plugged them in at night and if the rest of the country is like the Tennessee Valley region, there is enough idle electric capacity available in existing power plants that Americans could, over time, replace three-fourths of our light vehicles with plug-ins. That could cut in half the amount of oil we import – or reduce our overseas oil bill from $500 billion to $250 billion at today's prices."

    Alexander noted "Tennessee's new status as an automotive center means we can and should be at the center of this transformation." He stressed that Nissan, Toyota, Ford, and General Motors are planning to introduce plug-in vehicles in 2010 and that Federal Express is using hybrid trucks in its delivery fleets now.

    Alexander predicted TVA would soon offer "smart meters" permitting its 8.7 million customers in seven states to plug vehicles in at night at a low cost in exchange for paying more for electricity during peak usage hours between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

    At the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in May, Alexander proposed a "new Manhattan Project: a five-year project to put America firmly on the path to clean energy independence."

    "Instead of ending a war, the goal of the new Manhattan Project will be clean energy independence – so that we can deal with skyrocketing gasoline prices, soaring electricity prices, clean air, climate change, and national security – for our country first, and because other countries have the same urgent needs and therefore will adopt our ideas – for the rest of the world," Alexander concluded. "We should begin by exploring for more of the oil and natural gas that the United States already has. But to lower gasoline prices and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we must also look for more ways to reduce our use of oil."

    The Gas Tax Holiday

    Why don't we suggest to the candidates that instead of giving consumers a tax "holiday" of 18.4 cents a gallon, (which would save me a little under two bucks per week), I would like to see the government earmark the money "earned" by that gasoline tax for rebates for people who buy electric cars. Make that "All electric and plug-in hybrids" That may get our automobile companies to begin making electric cars instead of "testing". Of course the problem is that it is already earmarked for things like bridges to nowhere, etc.

    If the government takes the tax holiday, the government would lose about $10 billion in revenue. Then they would recoop it buy charging the oil companies a windfall tax. Guess what, the oil companies would raise the price and nobody gains a thing.

    If they use that $10 billion as electric car purchase incentives, maybe the electic car companies like Fisker and Phoenix, even Aptera would offer non-fleet sales. Maybe the rebate would bring the price of a Prius down in line with what is really should be anyway. Maybe Toyata would make the Prius a Plug-in Hybrid, which they won't do unless Chevy makes the Volt. We all know the Volt isn't going to happen, so forget the Prius plugin.

    Congress should stipulate that in order to get a rebate, it should be a plug-in hybrid, not a wimpy "2 miles in all electric mode" greenwash car. IE: the Tahoe Hybrid won't qualify.

    C02 Emission Study

    If you don't think people have anything to do with CO2 emissions, then watch this. A study by Purdue University shows some fantastic high resolution presentations on the carbon emissions of the United States.
    "

    What's wrong with America's Automobile Gas Mileage?

    In 2007, the U.S. EPA released a report revealing that 2006 model-year vehicles in the U.S. got an average of 21 mpg -- the same figure as the previous year, and lower than in 1982. General Motors sank below that number with an average of 20.5 mpg, and Ford even lower, with an average of 19.7. Meanwhile, Honda managed to pull off an average of 24.2, and Toyota came in at 23.8.


    I wonder if oil companies will start selling oil based on it's source like the electricity companies do. You know how CPS has it's Windtricity program, which is marketed to make you think you are buying "clean" energy. I believe they are selling "guilt relief" for a premium price. Yes, it is actually a rate lock, and that is all it should be called, and how it should be marketed. The Oil companies could probably get a premium for Alaskan, Gulf of Mexico, and US oil, so that people wouldn't have to feel bad about buying oil from countries that support terrorism, don't educate women, support extremists, etc. Look for it soon at your neighborhood gas station. I know people would buy into that logic.
    Let's compare how our import "addiction" is doing. Here are our daily use totals for 2006.
    Crude Oil Imports to the U.S. (Top 15 Countries)
    (Thousand Barrels per Day)
    CountryDec 07Nov 07YTD 2007 Dec 06 Jan - Dec 2006
    CANADA 1,784 1,919 1,864 1,830 1,802
    SAUDI ARABIA 1,675 1,530 1,453 1,471 1,423
    VENEZUELA 1,246 1,227 1,150 1,045 1,142
    MEXICO 1,234 1,484 1,410 1,245 1,577
    NIGERIA 1,210 1,245 1,082 1,010 1,037
    ANGOLA 439 408 496 610 513
    IRAQ 378 508 485 419 553
    ALGERIA 348 184 443 406 362
    ECUADOR 195 154 198 240 272
    BRAZIL 171 78 167 130 133
    KUWAIT 158 154 176 163 179
    AZERBAIJAN 134 77 57 68 27
    LIBYA 116 66 84 46 66
    COLOMBIA 113 197137 74 141
    UNITED KINGDOM 93 42 102 93 130


    Now, let's look back at what we imported in 2001.


    Major Sources of U.S. Petroleum Imports, 2001*
    (all volumes in million barrels per day)
      Total Oil Imports Crude Oil Imports Petroleum Product Imports
    Canada
    1.79
    1.32
    0.47
    Saudi Arabia
    1.66
    1.61
    0.05
    Venezuela
    1.54
    1.28
    0.26
    Mexico
    1.42
    1.38
    0.04
    Nigeria
    0.86
    0.81
    0.04
    Iraq
    0.78
    0.78
    0.00
    Norway
    0.33
    0.27
    0.06
    Angola
    0.32
    0.31
    0.07
    United Kingdom
    0.31
    0.23
    0.08
    Total Imports
    11.62
    9.15
    2.47
    * Table includes all countries from which the U.S. imported more than 300,000 barrels per day in 2001.
    You can get a nice yearly comparison, courtesy of the DOE.
    More quotes taken from the news as we find them.
    Energy Waste
  • An Oilman writes how ANWR will take 30 years to benefit anyone. ANWR is not the Answer .
  • The Anchorage Daily News reports that Effect of ANWR oil on prices would be minor
  • Mr. Obama was one of the authors of the FREEDOM ACT of 2007 Fuel Reduction using Electrons to End Dependence on Mid-East.
  • Jan 22, 2008 The CEO of Royal Dutch Shell talks of the Two Energy Futures he sees.
  • Dec 22, 2007 The new Energy Bill: A Bad week in news for America and the world.
  • Dec 11, 2007 CAR BOMB. You hear about the population explosion. And yes, the population has doubled from 3 billion to 6 billion since 1950. In the same period, car numbers shot up from 50 million to 500 million. Cars, in other words, are reproducing five times faster than people. They’re breeding like (VW) Rabbits.

    • When will the Joy Ride End?

  • A Columbia Grad Student made this short film on The EV Revival .
  • Dec 10, 2007 From Cleopatra to the Space Shuttle. Think about our Energy usage.
  • Nov 25, 2007 NPR Story on Energy Waste in Texas and our National Car of Texas
    But in Texas, the state's Republican leaders are global warming skeptics. Gov. Rick Perry recently quipped that the largest source of carbon dioxide is Al Gore's mouth.
  • Nov 17, 2007 New York Times Article by Thomas Friedman Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

    Cellulosic Ethanol

  • Spinning Straw into Fuel - The story of Cellulosic Ethanol
  • R-Squared Energy talks about Bio Butanol Production

    • Books we suggest

  • How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives in "Internal Combustion".

    • Make your own generator

    When oil and gas go thru the roof, you may want to put a windmill outside and generate your own fuel. here are some sample projects to get you started.
  • Build a Wind Generator from hard drive magnets
    • John Penry
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