The Bare Knuckled Pundit
Grand Inquisitor
Let’s get something out of the way from the outset, dear friends and faithful readers. I’ll try to be as blunt and clear as possible, so there are no misunderstandings or confusion.
Using current technologies, methods and resources, unless you DRAMATICALLY decrease the size of the American economy, our standard of living and ultimately the size of our population we will NEVER again achieve the state of energy independence.
NEVER.
No matter how much wind power we harness, how many rivers we dam, how much uranium we run through reactors, how much corn we convert, how much coal we liquefy or how many wells we drill, we will NEVER be able to fuel an economy and society of our current size independently again. Much less one expected to grow and expand off into the future.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is:
A) Poorly informed, misguided and naive
B) Pursuing marketplace advantages and profits
C) Grinding a political axe or promoting an agenda
D) Patently lying and pandering to rising public fears and economic pressures
E) A combination of all of the above
In addition to holding down the first and third spots on the list of exporters of oil to the United States, Canada and Mexico also provide us with significant quantities of natural gas and electricity. While our next door neighbors aren’t the ones most Americans immediately think of when you say “foreign oil”, they are in fact foreign and their exports are critical to our economy.
While many point to expanded ethanol use as the cure to our imported oil hangover, we fail to produce enough domestically to meet current government requirements and import tankers full of it from Brazil. That’s not even mentioning the negative impact of diverting increasing amounts of corn to ethanol.
While you may grouse about the price of steak at your local supermarket, food riots have broken out in various locales across the globe as people can’t afford to purchase increasingly insufficient supplies of basic staples. There is the unsettling realization globally that we may have traded famine for fuel in our rush to pursue independent and environmentally-friendly sources of energy. Kudos to Granddaddy Green himself, Al Gore, who developed the corn to ethanol process and showed us the error of our ways shortly before he invented the Internet!
The message is clear. Absent the development of a miraculous new technology or process, Senators Clinton and Obama’s declarations to the contrary notwithstanding, the United States, no matter how hard it tries, will never again be energy independent.
Being an avid scholar and trying to set a good example for my tormented students, I do my best to back up my pompous pronouncements with Herculean amounts of research and data. In the course of my recent readings I've had the pleasure of devouring Robert Bryce's "Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence". Note that it is therefore currently on "The Bare Knuckled Book List".
Should you question my contention that America will never again reach the promised land of energy independence, I would highly recommend you read Mr. Bryce's indepth and easily digestible analysis of the issue. He will enlighten you, much to Gore's chagrin, about the potential energy generated by a home solar cell system and the amount of time it takes to recoup the initial investment in the system. While the energy benefits are marginal, recouping the initial investment will set you back twenty years. Yes, read 'em and weep, Al. Twenty years.
Meanwhile, Gore's utility bills for the last two years averaged $30,000-a-year for his 20-room mansion in the uber-posh Belle Meade section of Nashville. The 10,000 square foot home and pool house devoured nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours in 2006 alone, more than 20 times the national average of 10,656 kilowatt-hours. Way to take a hit for the team, Al! The polar bears appreciate your sacrfice!
As Carly Simon so poignantly said, faithful readers, I haven't got time for the pain. Or in Saint Al's case, the hypocrisy. So stay clear of clouds and pray long and hard for that silver bullet because we're currently packing blanks when it comes to any serious plan regarding our energy future, or lack thereof.
Stay tuned for further updates as Al Gore's ego and wonderfully creative imagination warrents!
Using current technologies, methods and resources, unless you DRAMATICALLY decrease the size of the American economy, our standard of living and ultimately the size of our population we will NEVER again achieve the state of energy independence.
NEVER.
No matter how much wind power we harness, how many rivers we dam, how much uranium we run through reactors, how much corn we convert, how much coal we liquefy or how many wells we drill, we will NEVER be able to fuel an economy and society of our current size independently again. Much less one expected to grow and expand off into the future.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is:
A) Poorly informed, misguided and naive
B) Pursuing marketplace advantages and profits
C) Grinding a political axe or promoting an agenda
D) Patently lying and pandering to rising public fears and economic pressures
E) A combination of all of the above
In addition to holding down the first and third spots on the list of exporters of oil to the United States, Canada and Mexico also provide us with significant quantities of natural gas and electricity. While our next door neighbors aren’t the ones most Americans immediately think of when you say “foreign oil”, they are in fact foreign and their exports are critical to our economy.
While many point to expanded ethanol use as the cure to our imported oil hangover, we fail to produce enough domestically to meet current government requirements and import tankers full of it from Brazil. That’s not even mentioning the negative impact of diverting increasing amounts of corn to ethanol.
While you may grouse about the price of steak at your local supermarket, food riots have broken out in various locales across the globe as people can’t afford to purchase increasingly insufficient supplies of basic staples. There is the unsettling realization globally that we may have traded famine for fuel in our rush to pursue independent and environmentally-friendly sources of energy. Kudos to Granddaddy Green himself, Al Gore, who developed the corn to ethanol process and showed us the error of our ways shortly before he invented the Internet!
The message is clear. Absent the development of a miraculous new technology or process, Senators Clinton and Obama’s declarations to the contrary notwithstanding, the United States, no matter how hard it tries, will never again be energy independent.
Being an avid scholar and trying to set a good example for my tormented students, I do my best to back up my pompous pronouncements with Herculean amounts of research and data. In the course of my recent readings I've had the pleasure of devouring Robert Bryce's "Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence". Note that it is therefore currently on "The Bare Knuckled Book List".
Should you question my contention that America will never again reach the promised land of energy independence, I would highly recommend you read Mr. Bryce's indepth and easily digestible analysis of the issue. He will enlighten you, much to Gore's chagrin, about the potential energy generated by a home solar cell system and the amount of time it takes to recoup the initial investment in the system. While the energy benefits are marginal, recouping the initial investment will set you back twenty years. Yes, read 'em and weep, Al. Twenty years.
Meanwhile, Gore's utility bills for the last two years averaged $30,000-a-year for his 20-room mansion in the uber-posh Belle Meade section of Nashville. The 10,000 square foot home and pool house devoured nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours in 2006 alone, more than 20 times the national average of 10,656 kilowatt-hours. Way to take a hit for the team, Al! The polar bears appreciate your sacrfice!
As Carly Simon so poignantly said, faithful readers, I haven't got time for the pain. Or in Saint Al's case, the hypocrisy. So stay clear of clouds and pray long and hard for that silver bullet because we're currently packing blanks when it comes to any serious plan regarding our energy future, or lack thereof.
Stay tuned for further updates as Al Gore's ego and wonderfully creative imagination warrents!
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