Daily Agitator
It is all the rage now on the airwaves, everybody has jumped on the bandwagon of trying to break the US addiction to oil. All I can say is…..GOOD LUCK with that.
First a little history in case you are not aware of the facts about our energy issues…..
From Info Ink page, “Will The Addict Return?”
If you can remember back to the 70’s when there was an energy addiction that made for an energy crisis. We all started to think of ways to kick our oil habit like alt energy, wind, solar and other energy saving measures and for awhile we were moving in the right direction and were kicking the monkey on our backs. But unfortunately we fell off our wagon. The pushers, the oil companies, in the 80’s made the price of gas and oil cheaper and we stated thinking that we were not all that bad for the addiction. It was something that we could live with. We wanted our 4 gallon to the mile Hummers. We began feeding our need heavier than before.
So the idea of a more liberal alt energy program as something new is just ignorant…….every president since Jimmy Carter has had the plan to break our dependence and so for we are more heavily addicted with the passing of each president. The question to ask is, “Are we truly serious about breaking our dependence on foreign oil?”
You, personally, may be….but the government is NOT! As usual, the government is offering a band-aid for a gunshot wound….absolutely NO one in Washington is truly supporting a total independence……they were not in the 70’s and they are NOT today.
Americans have talked a mean game, but NO where are they prepared to give up their addiction. As long as the drug of choice is inexpensive enough to allow them to drive a car that gets 4 gallons to the mile then they will continue to use and use and use…..no matter how good the intention…actions speak louder.
So, to answer the question, “Can the addict be weaned?”….the answer is yes but it will be painful….and that is politically bad and will not be used….they will continue to offer up incremental changes that does little to solve the addiction problem….like the CAFE……does little about consumption of the drug…..the addict is here to stay and the government will make sure of it, as long as they work as paid agents for the suppliers of the drug….. oil industry.
A Side Note: The new Energy bill is living proof of how the oil industry has its tentacles into the process……here is the new bill synopsis:
The bill includes as its centerpiece “oil spill response” legislation that would: require BP to pay for damage from its spill; require oil companies to invest in new spill cleanup and prevention technologies; improve federal spill response; reform the Minerals Management Service; and update maritime laws.
But other aspects of the bill, according to a draft summary of the legislation, step into other energy arenas by:
- Providing incentives for turning the nation‘s heavy truck fleet to natural gas and toward electrification of the nation‘s transportation sector.
- Promoting “clean energy job creation” providing $5 billion of rebates to encourage homeowners to make efficiency upgrades as part of the Home Star program.
- Fully funding a Land and Water Conservation Fund over the next five years to ensure that vital US lands and waters are protected into the future from climate change damage.
- Increasing the $1 billion liability cap of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to $5 billion and increasing fees to pay for it by requiring that oil companies pay 49 cents per barrel into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
This bill is a FAR cry from the bill promised by the Prez and his boyz…..it is weak…it is wimpy….it is impotent! Nothing to control emissions…..EMISSIONS……that is the main problem that needs to be addressed and nothing……..all I can say is that the money spent by energy companies was well used….
So “Can the addict be weaned”?….. NOT BY THIS BATCH OF COWARDS!
Another side note: the new Chevy electric car will start at $41,000…..yea! That should get the Americans to think about a change……how many working people can afford that price?
Electric cars – what is the point of charging the batteries on an electric car when the supply is generated by oil, gas, or coal? Trucks on natural gas – might as well convert them to coal and steam – no different!
However, the real reason for the failure of that 1970’s push is that governments never got behind the development of alternatives to oil (I wonder why…). Alternatives HAVE to be true alternatives and not some half baked unserviceable variants that require ordinary people to change their way of living and behaving, or spend vast amounts of money to make little difference! Why SHOULD the people do this and pay more for the priviledge? GOVERMENTS are paid to do just this sort of thing on the people’s behalf instead of lining their own pockets, or starting wars no one wants, or protecting the avaricious jerks of Wall Street.
If, for instance, hydrogen fuel became the norm (it CAN be produced by solar powered electrolysis), THEN you might begin to get somewhere. But THAT’S the point – became the NORM! To achieve that, the delivery infrastructure has to be in place and the cost of both the vehicle and the fuel has to be commensurate with, or cheaper than, petrol and diesel. THIS requires government pressure, education and above all SUBSIDY to begin with. From THERE, the NEXT step is to start building power units driven directly by fuel cells.
In the UK, when Saab wanted to build their business, they regularly sold new cars at COST (or very close to it) to employees (and one suspects their friends, relatives and the man in the moon too). This was an intelligent and sensible (and effective) marketing strategy, because the creation of a dealer and servicing network (along with the lucrative associated spares market) and above all a SECOND-HAND customer base was vital to get the cars into the market in a big way. It was also a lot cheaper in the longer term than the VAST amount the required TV advertising would otherwise have cost.
Speculate to accumulate – basic capitalism!
Where will the people charge their cars when on the road? I agree with Hydrogen cell I like this idea…but that means it will have little chance…..like I said the American addict will NEVER voluntarily give up their gasoline….I am for gioving them NO choice…..just make them do it!
Yes – that’s yet another disadvantage and a big one.
However, sorry, but I disagree on that last point – who is the f*cking government to start telling people how to live. If they want it – make it desirable to most people…
Well since most people will not do anything that is not mandated…..then all the addicts will remain……wars will be fought…..planet destroyed…..I will agree that making something desirable would be the easiest…..but we both know that that will not happen…at least in my lifetime……
Then that proves the government(s) doesn’t (as we both said) want to make it happen… but I disagree – NEVER mandate against ANYTHING except for crimes against the person like murder, rape etc. – it’s just a waste of time and money and like their f*cking cheek! Who do they think they are?
Governments are OUR servants, NOT the other way round! (whatever they may think – if indeed they do – think, that is)
A noble sentiment…but we both know that they do NOT think of themselves as servants, even though it is their lot to be, they consider themselves the masters…..just look at the arrogance they show in the news…..we work for them…not the opposite…their thinking not mine….
I have only ONE argument with you on that count – in my opinion, we should NEVER accept that, because the moment we do, we are lost. So, MY attitude with the politicos and bureaucrats is always – YOU work for ME, dude!
The more people take that attitude and stick to it regardless, the more they will HAVE to accept it in the end!