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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (86716)6/28/2010 12:26:21 PM
From: Sdgla1 Recommendation  Respond to of 224705
 
Energy Issues

June 28, 2010

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S ENERGY PIPEDREAMS

President Barack Obama isn't going to level with Americans on energy. Instead, he holds a gleaming vision of an America that should convert to the "clean" energy of, presumably, wind, solar and biomass. This isn't going to happen for many, many decades, if ever, says columnist Robert J. Samuelson.

For starters, we won't soon end our addiction to fossil fuels:

Oil, coal and natural gas now supply about 85 percent of America's energy needs.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects energy consumption to grow only an average of 0.5 percent annually from 2008 to 2035, but that's still a 14 percent cumulative increase.
Fossil fuel usage would increase slightly in 2035 and its share would still account for 78 percent of the total.
Unless we shut down the economy, we need fossil fuels. More efficient light bulbs, energy saving appliances, cars with higher gas mileage may all dampen energy use. However:

Offsetting these savings are more people (391 million vs. 305 million), more households (147 million vs. 113 million), more vehicles (297 million vs. 231 million) and a bigger economy (almost double in size).
Although wind, solar and biomass are assumed to grow up to 10 times faster than overall energy use, they will provide only 11 percent of the supply in 2035, up from 5 percent in 2008.
Meanwhile, it's imperative to tap domestic oil and natural gas. This creates jobs and limits our dependence on insecure imports. Drilling advances have opened vast reserves of natural gas trapped in shale ("shale gas"). Human error and corner-cutting by BP seem the main causes of the spill. Given the industry's previously strong safety record, Obama's six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling isn't justified and should be shortened. It's not industry lobbyists that sustain fossil fuels but the reality that they're economically and socially necessary, says Samuelson.

Source: Robert J. Samuelson, "Energy Pipedreams," Real Clear Politics, June 21, 2010.

For text:

realclearpolitics.com



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (86716)6/28/2010 12:31:39 PM
From: Carolyn2 Recommendations  Respond to of 224705
 
Phooey. They are defending the United States against the harmful and wasteful attempts of Democrats to buy votes for their own power.



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (86716)6/28/2010 12:44:24 PM
From: Bill3 Recommendations  Respond to of 224705
 
So that means the Democrats controlled the Senate during the 8 "failed years" of the Bush administration? You're saying the Democrat senators caused the recession?

Thanks for finally admitting your party is evil.



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (86716)6/28/2010 1:09:22 PM
From: Hope Praytochange  Respond to of 224705
 
Message 26647951



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (86716)6/28/2010 8:25:43 PM
From: Ann Corrigan2 Recommendations  Respond to of 224705
 
Dodd & Barney Frank exempted Fannie & Freddie where the whole mess started. So how effective could the bill be when you Dems are letting the root cause of the financial meltdown off the hook? It's a farce.