Author Topic: Declare War on Oil Before It’s Too Late  (Read 623 times)

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Offline Graybeard

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Declare War on Oil Before It’s Too Late
« on: March 14, 2008, 09:52:55 AM »
Thursday, March 13, 2008 8:06 AM

By: Christopher Ruddy   
 



Imagine if President Bush, after 9/11, simply declared war on oil and put the whole nation behind ending our crippling dependence on it.

Imagine if we had spent the money we allocated to the war in Iraq toward eliminating the oil addiction. The tab for the Iraq war hovers around the $1 trillion mark and grows at a clip of at least $12 billion a month. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the cost through 2017, including hidden costs such as veterans’ benefits, could total $2.4 trillion.

There is little question that America is defending its interests in the Middle East largely because of oil. In his recent memoir “The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World,” former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan wrote: “I’m saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: The Iraq war is largely about oil.”

Declaring war on oil should be — literally — a war, giving the president and Congress emergency powers to mobilize the nation as never before.

I am not talking about platitudes, which we are once again hearing from presidential candidates.

I remember watching Jimmy Carter’s 1977 televised speech in which he said dealing with America’s oil dependency as “the moral equivalent of war.”

In the years since, every president and presidential candidate has repeated the call to lessen America’s dependence on foreign oil. Yet little has been done.

Today the crisis is worse than ever as oil soars over $100 a barrel.

Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens recently appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Pickens painted a dire picture: The U.S. is paying foreigners one-half trillion dollars a year — and some of those nations are our enemies.

At current rates, America is set to spend $5 trillion over the next 10 years to buy foreign oil, Pickens said, adding “That's more than $1 billion a day.”

And he’s right; the beneficiaries of this wealth transfer are often the “bad guys” — Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.

The numbers show our dependency. Currently, about 70 percent of U.S. electricity generation comes from the burning of fossil fuels, with nuclear power accounting for about 20 percent, hydroelectric 5.6 percent, and all other sources only about 2.5 percent.

We need to declare war on oil.

Here’s how such a “war” might work. The president and his administration would have emergency powers to develop, design, create, and implement alternative energy sources — just like the president can do during a full blown war. And since this would be a war, the trial lawyers and environmental extremists wouldn’t be allowed to bring millions of dollars of time-consuming law suits to stop the implementation of these energy sources.

Here’s just some of the areas the U.S. could focus on:


Nuclear energy. Its increased use could dramatically lower America’s dependence on oil. France gets about 75 percent of its electricity from nuclear power, according to the latest statistics. As of June 2007, the production cost of nuclear power stood at 1.72 cents per kilowatt-hour — compared to 9.63 cents for petroleum.

It’s environmentally friendly and we first led the world in this technology. Yet no new nuclear power plants have come on line in the U.S. since February 1996.


Geothermal energy. You may not know this, but Iceland gets 99 percent of its electricity from geothermal means.

Drill deep into the earth and you get heat. Pour water down the hole and it vaporizes to steam. Steam can turn turbines to create electricity. Advocates say that a fully developed geothermal energy program in the U.S. could provide all American energy needs 2,000 times over.

Geothermal plants already provide thousands of megawatts of electricity to Northern California and Nevada.


Wind power. This natural form of energy also is feasible. American wind energy installations currently produce enough electricity on a typical day to power the equivalent of more than 2.5 million homes, but the potential exists for far more wind power production. Pickens says whole sections of the Midwest could harvest enormous energy from such wind farms.


Coal liquification. This process converts coal into petroleum. Coal liquification been used for some time, but it’s costly. Already, the U.S. Air Force is increasingly using synthetic fuels made of coal derivatives, which are far cheaper than jet fuel.

Our government could back developing new technologies to make this work on a mass scale. The U.S. has an abundance of coal. U.S. recoverable reserves are estimated at 275 billion tons, the most in the world.


We need to work at every level to end our oil dependency. Congress needs to pass tax and other incentives for companies to research and develop new energy sources. At the same time, Congress has to incentivize consumers to help create the market for alternative energy.

Make no mistake — if we waged this war, we all would win.







© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
 
http://www.newsmax.com/ruddy/oil_dependence/2008/03/13/80091.html


Bill aka the Graybeard
President, Graybeard Outdoor Enterprises
256-435-1125

I am not a lawyer and do not give legal advice.

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Offline Cheesehead

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Re: Declare War on Oil Before It’s Too Late
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2008, 10:15:49 AM »
One of the great boondoggles in all of history.  A lost opportunity in deed and leadership.  Bought and paid for by big oil and the M.I.C., and congress can take some blame too, alot of blame for not controlling the maniacs at the wheel.   Meanwhile, just look what this war as done to this country along with the management incompetency and corruption that come along hand and hand with these kinds of amoral regimes.  And to think citizens still defend this kind of corruption and lies, and want to elect another chip off the old block is mind boggling.

...TM7


TM7,

You are sooo right about this.

Cheese
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance.

Offline Sourdough

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Re: Declare War on Oil Before It’s Too Late
« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2008, 01:10:02 PM »
GB:  I agree with you, and what your post said.  We as a country are doing nothing to help ourselves.  We have a Nuclear plant sitting unfinished, I believe it is 80% complete, in Hartsville Tennessee.  We have oil we are not drilling for in this country, that could help us in the short term, till we could develop alternate sources.  And what have we been doing to develop these alternate sources in the last 20 years?  We knew this day was coming, many of us have been screaming about this problem.  Now we are between a rock and a hard place.  What are we going to do?  But more foreign oil. 

Why are we not harnessing the tides, the waves, and more wind?  We might interfere with a fish, or chop up a little bird, that's why!  Geothermal?  Some people are stuck with the old ways, and will not embrace change.  They laugh when you bring it up, saying that's silly.  Well I think things are going to come to a head soon.  Heating oil is going for $7.80 a gallon out in the villages, and $3.30 here in town.  And since oil hit over $100.00 a barrel we are going to see those prices go even higher.  People can no longer afford to heat their homes.  Some have gone to using coal here in town, now the EPA is getting upset with the particulate levels and is wanting to implement restrictions on coal and wood burning in private homes.  Yet the coal fired power plants in Fairbanks and FT WW are OK.  We are getting desperate here, something has to give.

Every day I see people buying fuel oil at the local station in 5 and 10 gal increments and paying with a credit card, just enough to get them by for the next few days.  Why?  Because the oil delivery companies have cut them off for non payment.  Long lines at the Electric company paying just enough to keep their electricity from being cut off.  Folks up here are hurting, bad, and nothing is being done. 

Yet we see oil companies posting record profits.  With loads of Natural Gas just 400 miles away, and the oil companies refusing to bring it down.   
Where is old Joe when we really need him?  Alaska Independence    Calling Illegal Immigrants "Undocumented Aliens" is like calling Drug Dealers "Unlicensed Pharmacists"
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A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.

Offline Dee

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Re: Declare War on Oil Before It’s Too Late
« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2008, 03:54:30 AM »
Until the bass boats run out of gas, the electricity goes off thereby eliminating the watching of the NBA, NFL, and NASCAR, and the VIAGRA commercials. And until when the trucking industry can no longer deliver groceries because of fuel costs, this nation WILL NOT GET IT!
I laugh in a sick sort of way, when one of my friends complains about not getting enough work and is behind on his bills, tells me that the $2400.00 dollars he and his wife and FOUR small children is getting FREE ::) from the government is going for a BIG SCREEN TV.
He truly believes that the government will take care of the financial problems of the country, and doesn't believe that they are actually PARTICIPANTS in the problem.
Unlimited Credit is and will be our downfall. Fuel cost are only FUELING AND ACCELERATING the process. We are hitting the proverbial wall, and many do not realize it. Soon we will not have to boycott oil. We won't be able to afford groceries because of it, and it (the oil) will be the least of our worries. JMO
You may all go to hell, I will go to Texas. Davy Crockett

Offline torpedoman

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Re: Declare War on Oil Before It’s Too Late
« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2008, 11:48:33 AM »
The Bush family fortune is oil based our V.P. has "PROPERTY OF HALIBURTON" tattooed on his ass and you really think they are concerned with oil dependency, It came as a shock for W to find out gas was over 3 bucks a gallon. As for the next president just who do you think gave them the millions to run for office. You realize that they expect nothing in return they just gave them the money because they liked them. The Easter bunny will bring you candy next week , Santa will leave you all the toys you want, and your going to win the lottery next week. Oh by the way please buy this bridge i have in new york as i don't use it anymore.
the nation that forgets it defenders will itself be forgotten

Offline gypsyman

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Re: Declare War on Oil Before It’s Too Late
« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2008, 04:29:41 PM »
We should have started a war on oil in 1974, when the first oil embargo hit us. We were all just to complacent to do anything about it. To easy to just sit back and do nothing! Kinda like smoking,drinking, and eating to much. And then lets blame the cigarette company's, alcohol distillers, and fast food restaurants when were dieing. 401K looks pretty good, when the dividends roll in form the oil company stock pays off. Don't want to say much, or disagree when I'm making money.  gypsyman
We keep trying peace, it usually doesn't work!!Remember(12/7/41)(9/11/01) gypsyman

Offline Cheesehead

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Re: Declare War on Oil Before It’s Too Late
« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2008, 05:38:13 PM »
When it hits $20 a gallon we will finally do something about it, not until then.

Cheese
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance.

Offline MZ5

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Re: Declare War on Oil Before It’s Too Late
« Reply #7 on: March 16, 2008, 07:51:13 PM »
Well, for my family's part of "we," our personal vehicle miles driven is down ~50% in the past ~2 years.  So, we're doing what we can!

Offline gypsyman

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Re: Declare War on Oil Before It’s Too Late
« Reply #8 on: March 17, 2008, 03:10:20 AM »
I totally agree with the ''we'' part. My work truck, which is a full size van sits, Monday, thru Thursday, and I use the wife's car, that gets double the mileage during the week. Pay bills, bank trips, doctor's visits,grocery store, try and get them all done with one trip. Some time's it doesn't work out, but sure try to. The best thing ''we'' can do, is use as little as possible. Make them hurt by not needing or using as much. Our own private war on oil.  gypsyman
We keep trying peace, it usually doesn't work!!Remember(12/7/41)(9/11/01) gypsyman