THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 12, January 13, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
CONGRESS CONJURES UP AN ENERGY DEFICIT
By Alan Caruba
THE CONGRESSIONAL ENERGY BILL RECENTLY ENACTED INTO U.S. LAW: ENERGY LEGISLATION THAT RUNS
COUNTER TO EVERY STANDARD OF ECONOMICS, PHYSICS, & COMMON SENSE -- WHAT SUPPORTERS OF THE NEW ENERGY
BILL IGNORED: AN IMPORTANT MEANS TO REDUCE THE IMPORTATION OF FOREIGN OIL IS TO ENCOURAGE
EXPLOITATION OF THE OIL SOURCES KNOWN TO EXIST IN & OFFSHORE AMERICA -- WHAT THE ENERGY BILL DOES NOT
DO: PERMIT DRILLING FOR & EXTRACTION OF OIL IN THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE; ENCOURAGE
EXPLORATION FOR OIL & NATURAL GAS OFF THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENTAL SHELF ON OUR WEST & EAST
COASTS; GIVE OIL COMPANIES TAX INCENTIVES TO BUILD THE NEW REFINERIES THE NATION NEEDS; ENCOURAGE THE
BUILDING OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
FULL STORY:
Let’s understand a simple fact. You cannot squeeze any more energy out of a gallon of gasoline than already exists. If you
mix it with an additive which itself provides less energy, what you get is less energy.
So, when Congress passed a socalled energy bill in mid-December, 2007, that demanded more “fuel efficiency” by a
measure of forty percent, requiring that automobiles be built to get 35 miles per gallon in 2020 as opposed to the former
mandate of 25 mpg, it was essentially telling American auto makers to start making cars out of paper mache or something so
lightweight that the driver and passengers will have to be extracted from a crash with a sponge.
Then, too, there’s a strange notion that 300 million Americans, some of whom have been known to drive cars and trucks, are
somehow going to be able to “conserve” their way to “energy independence.” You can’t save or conserve the energy in a
gallon of gasoline or any other fuel. You either use it or you don’t. If you don’t use it, you better find another way to get to
work or anywhere else.
U.S House Majority Leader and Democratic Party Floor Leader, Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, said the energy
bill will cut demand for foreign oil and promote non-fossil fuels that will reduce greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
This is worse than just being stupid; this is dangerous nonsense. Why? Because (1) there is no global warming and (2) one
way to reduce the importation of foreign oil is to encourage the discovery, extraction, and refining of the oil sources that are
known to exist in and offshore America.
Does the new “energy bill” permit drilling for and extraction of the millions, perhaps billions, of barrels of oil in Alaska’s
ANWR? No. Does the new bill encourage the exploration for oil and natural gas off the nation’s continental shelf on our
vast east and west coasts? No. Did it give the oil companies any tax breaks to build the billion-dollar refineries the nation
needs? No. Did it encourage the building of nuclear plants? No.
In fact, the Democrats wanted to roll back the $13.5 billion in “tax breaks” -- which some might otherwise call “incentives” --
that are granted oil companies. When you consider how much it costs to explore, extract, transport and refine oil, $13.5
billion is chump change, but Congress wanted to grant all kinds of tax breaks and other incentives to wind, solar, and
biomass energy producers when none of these alternative forms of energy produce enough electricity to keep the lights on
in any American city, nor ever will.
Democrats claimed that American motorists will eventually save $700 to $1,000 a year in fuel costs. How anyone could make
such a claim when even kindergartners know that the price of a barrel of oil is close to $100 defies reality. The only thing that
will reduce the price of a barrel of oil is more oil. It’s called supply and demand.
The demand for oil worldwide is increasing because nations such as China and India are becoming more productive in the
global marketplace and their citizens want to drive to work just like we do. More cars mean more competition for existing oil
supplies. Improving economies mean more people want to eat meat and you get meat by feeding livestock corn, but the new
“energy bill” also doubles the production and use of ethanol, which is made from corn. As the price of corn rises, so does the
cost of everything else, from food to fuel.
Finally, as the perfect example of how totally idiotic this new “energy” bill is, it includes a ban on the incandescent bulb by
2014, beginning with a phase-out of the 100-watt bulb by 2012, just five years from now.
The energy bill, passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and signed into law by the President, runs counter
to every standard of economics, physics, and common sense. If this is what Congress does with regard to energy, can you
imagine what it would produce in terms of health care?
The American people could have filled the House and Senate chambers with chimpanzees and probably gotten a better
energy bill than that foisted upon us by our elected representatives.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
The Earth's Natural History, Global Climate Changes,
& the Future of Human Life & Civilization on the Planet:
Science, Ideology, & Public Policy
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a
clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly commentary, "Warning Signs," posted
on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center, which is located at
www.anxietycenter.com.
Caruba has a daily blog at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com.
Caruba’s new book, Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy, has been published by Merril Press.
© Alan Caruba 2008
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity