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Politics : The Obama - Clinton Disaster -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: joseffy who wrote (63581)	1/6/2012 12:58:54 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	1 Recommendation Respond to of 103300

1) Congress just ended the 30-year-old ethanol subsidy on Jan. 1. It is no more. The credit (went to the folks who blended ethanol into gasoline, it was called the "blender credit" and was a 45-cents-a-gallon tax credit for them and amounted to 4.5 cents for the amount blended into each gallon of E-10 fuel.). The tax credit used to cost the federal government $6 billion a year. Nearly 40% of the United States' corn crop was going into making alcohol... which tended to drive up all kinds of food costs of course for food that used corn, (or for pork, beef, etc., stuff that eats corn). On the same day they ALSO ended the 54 cents per gallon tariff we have had for many years on imported ethanol (Brazil has long made ethanol a heck of a lot cheaper from Brazilian sugar cane than we ever could from corn) which was also propping up ethanol costs in the US, and the cost of gasoline blended with ethanol. usatoday.com 2) As far as the "fermented algae biofuel" that was mentioned that is referring to bio-DIESEL and aviation fuel blends, not to ethanol, and you have probably seen ads on TV for the last couple of years from B.P. and from EXXON trumpeting their "big" research programs into making diesel type fuels from algae. They have been researching this for decades and are by far the biggest investors in it. Yes, the cost of oil made from algae (or from other plants) is certainly more expensive right now than 'regular' drilled oil... but I would also point to two other things: A) the price (as with many new technologies) starts out very high but often falls dramatically with efficiencies of scale as industry gears up larger and larger operations and gets more efficient. For example, I believe the costs for this particular process have fallen by HALF just in the past year. Source: "the December 5 purchase was roughly half the cost, per gallon, as the Navy’s initial advanced biofuels purchases in 2009." senseandsustainability.net B) It has long been argued that the "true cost" for oil imported into the US from the Middle East should include all the oil subsidies we have... including the tens of Billions of dollars we pay every year for the fleets and other military operations that we have to operate in that part of the world (Persian Gulf and other supply lines to it) to ensure that the supply of foreign oil can't be cut off. The United States spends more than $300 billion a year to import oil. The "true cost of oil" has been calculated different ways by many people but usually tries to include all of the "hidden" costs that aren't usually acknowledged.... The true cost of oil to the US taxpayer Including all of the following aspects to the price the individual US consumer pays at the pump makes the cost of a gallon of imported gas approximately $26 dollars. This amounts to about $15,400 per year for the average car in the US, or 70% of the median household income given 2.3 cars per household. The true cost of importing oil to the US includes the following aspects: The cost of the oil ($2.50) Oil-related defense expenditures ($3.79) The loss of domestic employment and related economic activity due to cash outflow for oil ($3.23) The reduction in investment capital ($10.85) The loss of local, state and federal tax revenues ($1.18) The economic toll periodic oil supply disruptions impose on the domestic economy ($3.65) Federal subsidies for oil & gas industry ($0.69) The market cost of carbon ($0.18) Pricing shown per US tax payer; assumes $60 per barrel of oil and $20 per ton of CO2 (Oil is CURRENTLY over $100 a barrel.) Source: Testimony of Milton R. Copulos, President, National Defense Council Foundation, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, March 30, 2006; IMF, 2008; EIA; CleanTech Group, 2007; US Census Bureau; Experian Automotive; Paper presented to Congressional staff members by NDCF President Milt Copulos, January 8, 2007 sapphireenergy.com While according to the National Defense Council Foundation, the economic penalties of America's oil dependence total $297.2 to $304.9 billion annually. If reflected at the gasoline pump, these “hidden costs” would raise the price of a gallon of gasoline to over $5.28. A fill-up would be over $105. Institute for the Analysis of Global Security How much are we paying for a gallon of gas? We pay about $3.00 for a gallon of gasoline at the service station. But the real price of gas is much higher and camouflaged by myriad direct and indirect costs associated with maintaining our oil economy. How much are you actually paying for gas? Take a closer look at the hidden bills footed by your taxes: The federal government subsidizes the oil industry with numerous tax breaks and government protection programs worth billions of dollars annually. These benefits are designed to ensure that domestic oil companies can compete with international producers and that gasoline remains cheap for American consumers. Our dependency on oil from countries that are either politically unstable or at odds with the U.S. subjects the American economy to occasional supply disruptions, price hikes, and loss of wealth, which, according to a study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy, have cost us more than $7 trillion present value dollars over the last 30 years. That is more than the cumulative cost of all of the wars fought by the U.S. since the Revolutionary War. The transfer of wealth to oil-producing countries - $1.16 trillion over the past thirty years - significantly increased our trade deficit. The Department of Energy estimates that each $1 billion of trade deficit costs America 27,000 jobs. Oil imports account for almost one-third of the total U.S. deficit and, hence, are a major contributor to unemployment. The cost of securing our access to Middle East oil - deploying U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf, patrolling its water and supplying military assistance to Middle East countries - is estimated at $50 billion per year, which adds additional dimes to each gallon of gasoline we purchase Political instability in the region breeds wars and embroils the U.S. in costly military actions. The 1990-91 Gulf War broke out as a result of an oil dispute between Iraq and Kuwait. The cost to the international community reached almost $80 billion. The cost of the 2003 Iraq war and the following occupation of the country is estimated at $200 billion. To ensure access to the oil that fuels our economy, the U.S. is forced to maintain continuous presence in the Middle East. This presence has been a rallying cry for anti-Americanism and Islamic fundamentalism.... iags.org Paying Oil's True Cost cbsnews.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ These (national energy security reasons) are really the main reasons why the Pentagon has (for well over a decade now) been experimenting with, and promoting with steadily larger and larger purchases, domestically secured ALTERNATIVE supplies of fuel for the military to use. The Pentagon is also planning for long down the road when oil runs out: "Green Hawks" at Pentagon see energy security in biofuel alternatives for a post-oil world: The Blue Angels squadron flew 18 inches apart on a 50-50 blend of biofuel petroleum at the Labor Day Air Expo at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. Courtesy of Rachel Marr/U.S. Navy csmonitor.com Pentagon Conducts Supersonic Biofuel Test-Flight youtube.com google.com I would think that "stacking stupidity" would be to NOT try to do anything about our addiction to foreign oil.....