THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XIII, Issue # 123, May 17, 2011
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
RANTS, LIES, SUBSIDIES, & JOB-KILLING POLICIES:
How the U.S. Government Pursues Energy Policies
That Kill Jobs, Wealth, Revenue, & People
By Paul K. Driessen
U.S. NATIONAL POLICY RELATING TO ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, & AMERICA'S NATURAL RESOURCES: THE
INSANITY, DUPLICITY, & STUPIDITY OF OUR NATION'S ENERGY, TAX, SUBSIDY, & ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES -- THE TASK OF
ADDRESSING A TOPIC QUITE REVELANT TO THE FUTURE OF THE AMERICAN NATION & ITS ECONOMY -- A TASK THAT IS
ESSENTIAL, ESPECIALLY AMID THE ONGOING WHITE HOUSE & CONGRESSIONAL RANTS OVER "UNCONSCIONABLE"
SUBSIDIES TO OIL COMPANIES, THE "IMMORALITY" OF "SACRIFICING" SCENIC & WILDLIFE TREASURES TO EXTRACT
HYDROCARBONS, & THE NEED TO COMPEL A RAPID TRANSITION TO "ECO-FRIENDLY" RENEWABLE ENERGY
FULL STORY:
President Obama’s views on oil, natural gas, and energy prices require just 44 words from his speeches:
“We have less than 2% of the world’s oil reserves.
We’re running out of places to drill. We’re running
out of oil. We need to end our $4 billion in annual
taxpayer subsidies to oil companies. We need to
invest in clean, renewable energy.”
As Congressman Joe Wilson would say, That’s a lie! Or, at least, a deliberate distortion of facts.
Oil “reserves” are what can actually be produced at today’s prices, with existing technologies, and under current laws
and regulations. America has vast oil, gas, and coal resources – several centuries of potential hydrocarbon energy. We
certainly have the technology to extract it, especially at $100 a barrel. What we don’t have are laws and regulations
that allow us to do so.
If the President were honest, he would say:
“We’re running out of oil that Democrats, my
administration and our radical environmentalist
allies will let this country produce. We’re
running out of places we’ll let companies drill.
We have 2% of world oil reserves, because we
have made most of our resources off limits.”
If he were honest, he would also say:
“We will demonize, penalize, hyper-regulate, tax,
and kill hydrocarbons. But we will mandate and
subsidize wind, solar and ethanol, ignore their
environmental and human costs, and extol the
measly, expensive, unreliable energy they
produce."
“We oppose subsidies for oil and coal companies
(even in the form of tax deductions for actual
expenses), because they promote drilling – and
their CEOs and workers rarely vote for us. We
support huge subsidies for wind, solar and
ethanol, because those guys keep us in power
and force a transition to renewable power."
“We know oil, gas, and coal generate royalty and
tax revenues, and provide 85% of the energy that
powers America and supports jobs, commuting,
factories, transportation, tourism, hospitals,
ambulances, churches, and living standards. But
we don’t care about revenues, except when they
come from higher taxes on corporations – or rich
families that make over $250,000 … $150,000 …
$65,000 a year. We detest free enterprise, and
want government to control more of your energy,
economy, and lives."
“And we love the way supply and demand laws
drive prices up. District of Columbia area gasoline
is now $4.25 a gallon. That’s about half of what
Energy Secretary Steven Chu and I would like it
to be, just like in Europe. And we know restricting
energy supplies even further will send all prices
skyrocketing even higher.”
As crazy as they sound, these ideologies are even more frightening and demented in practice.
Oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is projected to drop 240,000 barrels a day this year. That’s $9 billion more America
will have to pay this year to import replacement oil, $1.3 billion we won't collect in federal royalty payments, thousands
of jobs that won't be “created or saved,” and billions in corporate, personal income and sales taxes we won't collect.
The U.S. Geological Survey says upwards of 90 billion barrels remain to be discovered in the Arctic. ANWR alone could
hold 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil, producible from areas totaling 1/20th of Washington, D.C. But it’s all locked up,
off limits to We the People who own it.
Meanwhile, the huge Prudhoe Bay field is slowly running dry. So, the Alaska Pipeline is operating at a fraction of its
capacity, which increases corrosion and blockages in the pipe, magnifies the risk of ruptures and spills, and threatens
the future of Alaskan oil. Shell Oil spent $3.5 billion acquiring and exploring leases in the Chukchi Sea – but the Interior
Department and the Environmental Protection Agency refuse to issue drilling permits, because diesel emissions from the
rig could cause global warming or affect the health of Alaska Natives 20-50 miles away! It all adds up to less oil, less
royalty revenue, fewer jobs, and more imported oil. Just as Obama & Company intend.
Made-in-America technology and innovation have unlocked centuries of new natural gas in U.S. shale formations (and
similar deposits all over the world). This game-changing development has reduced gas prices, completely unhinged
Obama, Liberal Democrats, and other environmentalist ideologues -- and devastated their “we’re running out” mantra.
So they’ve rallied the troops, to produce a bogus “documentary” film (“Gasland”), a sloppy Cornell University “study,”
and reams of new EPA regulations, to stymie shale gas. A thorough analysis by science writer Matt Ridley provides
much needed facts and perspectives. (The same horizontal drilling and “fracking” technologies are also unlocking
eco-nightmarish new oil riches.)
Coal generates half of all U.S. electricity, and 70-98% in twelve states – sustaining jobs by keeping air conditioning,
heating, and machinery operating costs at about half of what is typical in states that get little or no electricity from coal.
But the EPA has issued 946 pages of new air quality rules and launched a massive propaganda campaign against
mercury emissions – even though those power plants account for barely 0.5% of all mercury in the air Americans
breathe. President Obama has said he wants to “bankrupt” the industry.
All told, over a billion acres of onshore and offshore energy prospects are locked up – costing us centuries of fuel,
millions of jobs, and hundreds of billions in bonus, royalty, and tax revenues. Of course, there are “no quick fixes” for
our energy problems, as President Obama loves to remind us. But, if we’d begun drilling in some of these places 10-20
years ago, we wouldn’t be in this fix today.
As to subsidies, even the alleged billions for oil companies are a pittance compared to subsidies for wind, solar, and
ethanol. Subsidies per unit of energy actually produced are even more shocking. According to the Energy Information
Administration, gas-fired electricity generation received a mere 25 cents per megawatt-hour in subsidies in 2007; coal
got 44 cents. By comparison, wind turbines got 23.4 dollars and photovoltaic solar received 24.3 dollars per mWh.
Moreover, oil and gas is 24/7 – with 95% reliability. The industry supports 9.2 million jobs, directly and in companies
that depend on reliable, affordable oil, gas, gasoline, fertilizer, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and electricity. It generates
federal revenue, paying billions in taxes and royalties. The same holds true for coal.
By contrast, wind and solar produce electricity just two to eight hours a day – with backup generators making up the
monumental shortfall. That means we must duplicate every megawatt of wind and solar with a MW of (mostly
gas-fired) backup power – which requires even more land and raw materials to support the government-mandated
transition to “eco-friendly” renewable energy systems.
More appalling, instead of generating tax or royalty revenues, wind and solar require perpetual subsidies. Solar panel
maker Solyndra got a $535 “stimulus” loan in 2009; the day after the 2010 elections, it announced it was laying off 190
people. In April, 2011, alone, the Department of Energy poured $9 billion in loan guarantees into wind and solar
projects that will blanket large swaths of crop and habitat land.
Ethanol receives subsidies of $5.72 per million Btu (190 times what oil and gas companies get), so that we can burn food
to make the fuels government won’t let us drill for. In 2010, American farmers turned 36% of their corn crop into ethanol,
which provides 30% less energy than gasoline – meaning cars get less mileage per tank for more bucks per gallon.
Making one gallon of this substandard fuel also requires some 1,700 gallons of water and large quantities of
petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides. Worse, energy economist Indur Goklany calculates, biofuel policies may be
causing 200,000 deaths a year in poor countries, by raising food prices, increasing malnutrition, and making people more
vulnerable to disease.
Overall, since assuming power in Washington, the Obama administration has channeled over $60 billion into the “green
jobs” sector. And the renewable energy subsidy train rolls on, with tanker cars of red ink bankrolled by U.S. taxpayers
and consumers – to provide less than 1% of the energy we use.
If Congress still refuses to hold inquiries and end these tax-subsidized scams, perhaps the most we can hope for is that
a few courageous and publicly spirited governors and AGs will step into the breach.
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
Paul K. Driessen is senior policy advisor for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow and Congress of Racial Equality,
and author of Eco-Imperialism: Green Power - Black Death (2004).
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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