The Idiocy of Mainstream American Energy Policies

June 23, 2008

The Idiocy of Mainstream American Energy Policies

Common news reports in the United States so far: The average gasoline price will approach $5 per gallon this summer! Americans face increasing energy bills! Power outages are becoming more common in cities all across America! Food prices are at an all time high!

For what people around the world consider the U.S. as the richest, most powerful, and most efficient country on the globe, how did we get to face these dilemmas? Surely, most other countries suffer the same fate. But in this land of plenty and of innovation, these maladies could have been prevented. How did this happen on our soil? The answer lies in our idiotic mainstream energy policies such as adoptions of no new oil explorations, over reliance of alleged renewable sources of energy, and a non-nuclear energy stance.

Big oil executives in May of 2008 testified before a Senatorial hearing concerning the rising price of gasoline. This publicized charade was the brainchild of the Democrat controlled Congress to impress upon the “sheeple” of America that this current pathetic branch of federal government is doing something about the oil situation. Alas, one of the executives stood up and sadly stated that the government effectively clamped big oil companies from drilling new oil reserves and building new refineries for 30 years. Unconvinced by the truth, Democrat Representative of California, Maxine Waters, committed a Freudian slip when she stated that she wanted the government to “socialize,” later recanting to, take over the oil industry.

If members of Congress are dumb enough to realize that the price of oil is dictated by the free market and the forces of supply and demand instead of price gouging, then they are certainly not qualified to impose sensical rules for oil corporations. environmental “whacko” groups such as the Sierra Club and Green Peace have grabbed government leaders by their proverbial testicles and persuaded, if not forced, them to stifle oil drilling.

The American public is bombarded with alleged news from mainstream media that the world is running out of oil. This is complete hogwash! The truth is, this nation of ours has enough liquid and shale oil deposits to last us between 50 to 100 years if given current and future oil consumption, not to mention the huge coal deposit in Colorado that can be converted to oil which former President “BJ” Clinton declared the area as restricted federal land during his administration.

Huge oil deposits exist in Anwar, North Dakota, California, and off shore Florida to supply us with enough oil without depending on foreign sources in which the majority of them such as the rulers of Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Iran are hostile towards America. The barren tundra of Anwar in Alaska, for instance, spans about 2 million acres; oil companies only need 2,000 acres to extract most of the oil with a less intrusive and more efficient “directional drilling” method.

Have we come to a lower point in global stature in which our president has to travel to Saudi Arabia and beg King Fahd to turn the spigot more to increase Saudi oil production? Yes indeed! It happened about 3 weeks ago when George W.’s plea was humiliatingly rejected. The U.S. no longer commands the respect and fear of dictators and national thugs around the world since our nation has become politically weak and incompetent. This is evident in Congress’ current and abysmal 13% approval rating with the all non-knowing Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi a.k.a. “Stretch” among conservative circles, at the helm.

Clueless “environmentalists” like to think that alternative and renewable sources of energy are the answer to America’s current energy shortage. In the real scientific community, which is not based on the fake science of concensus popularized by scam artist Al Gore, these sources can only supplement about 10% to 15% of our energy needs. Solar energy still costs 10 times as much as energy generated by coal fired power plants. Wind power, on the other hand, is expensive to maintain and unreliable. What are we to do when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing? Nothing at all!

Similarly speaking, the fad of today for renewable source of fuel is none other than ethanol. Putting politics in perspective, the Midwest, with its political muscle, managed to convince the federal government to aggressively push the production of ethanol, derived from corn, as a gasoline additive. As a result, about 5 million U.S. acres are converted to corn harvesting. Why not to American farmers since they are being subsidized by the government to do so?

We have yet to feel the full impact of this implication both domestically and globally such as rising food prices and food riots in more than 5 countries. Since we are the biggest exporter of corn for animal feed and foodstuff, and more of it is being used to make the gasoline additive, there is less of it for consumption. Hence, other grains such as wheat and rice become shorter in supply.

Ethanol is such an inefficient source of fuel since it takes a gallon of gasoline to produce 80% less volume of ethanol. Furthermore, ethanol contains less energy per cubic volume compared to gasoline; hence, automobiles get less gas mileage. Moreover, both fuels do not mix readily and become unstable together over long periods of time. Additionally, ethanol produces more hydrocarbon gases than gasoline. These are scientific facts; but then again, government does not function on logic and reason, so do “liberal flowerheads.”

According to Dr. Bill Wattenberg, a renowned and brilliant scientist, radio talk show host, government consultant, and truth teller, nuclear energy is the solution to our ever growing electricity needs. Unfortunately, the number of nuclear power plants of about a little more than a hundred across this nation remained stagnant for the past 3 decades. The “eco-nuts,” as Dr. Bill snidely calls them as such, have prevented the construction of more due to anti-nuclear hysteria and the lies generated to the public about the evils of nuclear power.

Western Europe, formerly an adamant supporter of anti-nuclear forces, now admits that such energy source is not only practical but a vital power source for the continent. France, for example, gets 90% of its electrical power from nuclear power plants. It is such a success in that country that surplus energy is supplied to Germany and hydrogen gas is produced and utilized for other energy developments. The United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan are following suit. In fact, Europe derived their power plant construction from American blueprints. Also, they are way ahead in nuclear rod reprocessing techniques, thereby further reducing the amount of nuclear waste generated. It is a crying shame that our energy development and innovation are being hampered by political means.

“Eco-freaks” are the ones responsible for spewing greenhouse gases that they purport to worsen global warming by pushing construction of coal driven power plants instead of nuclear power plants. In fact, a typical coal plant spits out 10,000 times more air pollutants, including uranium and thorium, than its counterpart which mostly releases steam in the atmosphere.

More so, a family of four in a 20 year span only produces nuclear waste the size of a shoe box which will be rendered harmless in about a 100 years due to radiation decay. Compare that with millions of tons of pollution, or the more popular term “carbon” nowadays, coal plants belch out every year in this country.

Nuclear plants are inherently safe and secure. If a core meltdown would happen, even though it would be rare indeed due to built-in safety systems, it would be confined to its core. In addition, the hardened concrete dome, protecting the reactor, can withstand a direct collision from a Boeing 737 jet. The typical liberal notion that a determined terrorist group can hijack and steal fissionable materials inside a nuclear plant is pure myth.

Dr. Bill predicted a $6 or $7 per gallon gasoline and increasing utility costs before prices stabilize. How much can an average American working man or woman take before most of his or her disposable income is diminished? Moronic politicians, especially on the left side of the political spectrum, are succeeding in turning our proud nation into a Third World country. Corruption and partisan politics abound in the name of political correctness and pure nonsensical policies.

Perhaps we are ripe for a 3rd political party whose interests lie in our well being and world dominance. Maybe it is about time that we have a citizen government in which every civil servant is aware and has experienced the plight, hardship, and struggle of the common folk. It is time to have a government for the People!

A conservative American with a background in law enforcement, martial arts, engineering, and info systems management. Please check my web site about self-defense devices, child and home protection, and surveillance equipment at Striker701 Group.

Tags : politics, government, oil, gas, gasoline, environmentalists, food, prices, congress, energy, idiotic