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Politics : Politics of Energy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (664)	7/10/2008 2:03:33 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86355

What is the 'cost' of 50% of our trade deficit? What is the 'cost' of millions of cars consuming $4 gasoline? We have already including the cost of the gasoline. The extra cost for the car far exceeds the gasoline costs even with $4/gallon gas. What is the 'cost' of oil resource wars? We aren't fighting any wars purely for reasons of oil, and even if we replaced most of the cars in the US with hybrids or even full electrics would would still need to import oil (and natural gas), and also be vulnerable to the secondary effects from economic harm to our trading partners, from any supply disruption. What is the 'cost' of gasoline pollution (GW or not) in health problems/health care? What's the cost of all the toxic materials for the batteries? What is the 'cost' of financially strengthening enemy countries? The money goes to rivals or opponents (like Iran), but also allies (like Canada, or in the Middle East, Kuwait and Iraq), and also helps keep stability in places like Saudi. The financial cost to us, is pure negative, the 2nd order results, range from negative, through indifferent, to positive. You might argue that the net total is negative, and it might well be, but it isn't exactly clear, and even if it is, its a lower net negative than the cost of many millions of electric vehicles plus new infrastructure for electricity generation, distribution, and charging. At least its more than any sort of quick transition. I imagine a slower transition will happen over time as oil becomes more expensive, and as battery technology improves. What is the 'cost' or a recession? Pushing a move away from using the gasoline powered cars at any but a very deliberate rate is much more likely to cause recession than continued use of such cars. *What is the 'cost' of the risk that our country could be economically shut down on the whim of our enemies? It can't easily be done (or being strict about the terms your using it can't be done at all) We produce a lot of oil. Countries friendly to us, produce a lot more. We have the strategic petroleum reserve. And any country cutting off its sales will cut off its own revenue, which most of the major exporters desperately need. Any country trying to physically disrupt supply from other nations, would have the US military to deal with, and many have other vulnerabilities (for example Iran needs to import gasoline, and they could get cut off). And its not as if we face no possibility of supply disruptions if we had mostly electric cars. We do have other uses for oil, and we have declining domestic production. Which is not to say that using more electric cars would not reduce the vulnerability, but its not an on/off thing with massive vulnerability now, and almost none if we used mostly electric cars. Its a matter of degree.