THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XIII, Issue # 259, October 30, 2011
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
KILLING ENERGY, KILLING JOBS, KILLING AMERICA
By Alan Caruba
THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION & U.S. ENERGY & ECONOMIC POLICY: AMERICA UNDER ATTACK EVER SINCE THE
BEGINNING OF THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY -- THE PRIMARY TARGET & ENERGY POLICY GOAL OF THE OBAMA
ADMINISTRATION: THE ABILITY OF THE U.S.A. TO GENERATE ENERGY FOR ELECTRICITY & TRANSPORTATION,
WITHOUT WHICH THE NATION WOULD SLIDE INTO THIRD WORLD STATUS & ECONOMIC DECLINE -- PRESIDENT OBAMA'S
ADMITTED GOAL OF SHUTTING DOWN AS MUCH OF THE COAL INDUSTRY AS POSSIBLE -- HIS INTENTION OF DETERRING
THE PROVISION OF ENERGY TO AMERICANS, WHETHER FROM COAL, OIL, OR NATURAL GAS -- THE CONSEQUENCE:
A STALLED ENERGY SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY & EXACERBATION OF HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE OVERALL U.S.
ECONOMY
FULL STORY:
America has been under attack since President Barack Obama took the oath of office on January 20, 2009. The primary target
has been the nation’s ability to generate energy for electricity and transportation, without which this nation will slide into
Third World status and economic decline.
This appears to be the goal of this administration from the President to his Secretaries of Energy and Interior, to his Director
of the Environmental Protection Agency. There is no other rational explanation for what they are doing.
We are days away from the latest Environmental Protection Agency assault in the form of the “MACT” rule allegedly to
reduce mercury and other emissions that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says will reduce electricity generation in
America by about 81 gigawatts in the years ahead. A recent Wall Street Journal editorial said “this could compromise
the reliability of the electric system if as much as 8% of generating capacity is subtracted from the grid.”
The Wall Street Journal reports that eleven Governors have written the EPA to ask that it delay the final rule in
November. Twenty-five state Attorneys Generals have filed suit “to lift a legal document known as a consent decree that the
EPA is using as a fig leaf for its political goals.”
As but one example, in Illinois, Ameron announced the planned shutdown of its Meredosia and Hutsonville energy centers.
The Meredosia center generates 369 megawatts. The Hutsonville center has a generating capacity of 151 megawatts.
The EPA, even before the Obama administration, has been using the 1970 Clean Air Act to bludgeon the nation’s ability to
access the energy resources required to generate electricity, primarily coal that provides 50% of such generation, and oil that
fuels our transportation capability.
In late October, James J. Mulva, the CEO of Conoco-Phillips, addressed the subject of the growing discoveries of natural gas
being found throughout the nation. “More than 600,000 Americans already explore, produce, store and produce natural gas,
according to consultancy IHS Global Insight.”
At least 15 states now produce shale gas and others may join them,” noting that the largest shale area, the Marcellus, which
covers much of the Northeast,” . . . “already supports 140,000 jobs in Pennsylvania alone.”
The Obama administration, beginning with the President’s admitted goal of shutting down as much of the coal industry as
possible, has demonstrated his intention of deterring the provision of energy. When the BP Oil rig exploded in the Gulf of
Mexico, the administration imposed a moratorium on all drilling. The decreased production cost 360,000 barrels a day, in
addition to lost jobs related to oil drilling in the Gulf. Rigs that are needed to drill have since been moved to other sites
around the world.
The U.S.A. is home to more than 150 billion barrels of conventional oil that has the capability of generating thousands of
new jobs if access to it was permitted. The most immediate result has been the rise in the cost of gasoline at the pump. Two
courts ordered that the moratorium be lifted.
Oil companies currently pay more than $30 billion a year in federal, state, and local taxes. Meanwhile the Obama
administration has been wasting billions in loan guarantees to essentially useless solar and wind power companies, the
latest of which, Solyandra, will cost taxpayers millions when the solar panel producer went belly-up. Others will follow.
Meanwhile, the President crisscrosses the nations demanding higher taxes on companies engaged in coal, oil and natural
gas. When Jimmy Carter imposed a windfall tax on oil companies, many ceased to explore for new sources here, moving
their efforts to other nations. Today, by withholding the necessary permits to produce energy in Alaska, the Trans Alaska
Pipeline System is operating at one third of its capacity.
A proposed pipeline from Canada still awaits approval and, on November 6, led by the Sierra Club, the largest protest
against its tar sands is expected to draw thousands to Washington, D.C. to join hands and circle the White House to
ensure the Keystone XL pipeline is kept from providing the U.S.A. with the oil extracted. The proposed pipeline would
reduce the U.S. dependence on Middle East oil. The U.S.A. already has more than 50,000 safely operating oil pipelines to
support our transportation and other needs.
In January, 2010, Thomas J. Pyle, President of the Institute for Energy Research, warned that the Obama administration
“continues to embrace Washington-dominated, command-and-control energy policies focused on mandates, subsidies,
and political favors — not market forces.” He criticized “subsidizing one form of energy,” wind and solar, “while
restricting the exploration of another,” warning that it “will lead to several measurable outcomes, increasing energy prices
across the board, fewer jobs, and a weaker footing in the global economy..”
Nearly two years later, that warning has come true with a vengeance.
Oil, coal or natural gas, it doesn’t matter to an administration and a president determined to restrict the amount of energy
Americans can produce for their present and future needs. The result, in part, has been a stalled energy sector and a
contributing factor in an economy with an estimated 20 million unemployed or under-employed.
The losses in income taxes and the taxes paid by this industry sector, in addition to the hideous borrowing and spending
by the Obama administration is doing enormous harm to America, and, yet, Barack Obama wants a second term in office.
Little wonder that Americans fear for the future of the nation.
© Alan Caruba, 2011
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
Alan Caruba's commentaries are posted daily at Warning Signs, his popular blog -- and thereafter on dozens of other
websites and blogs. His monthly report on new books is posted at Bookviews.
A business and science writer, Caruba is the Founder of The National Anxiety Center, a clearinghouse for information
about "scare campaigns" designed to influence public opinion and policy.
Return to Top of Page
Go to the WEBSITE INDEX
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Public Issues & Political Controversies
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
Most Recent Articles
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Volume XIII, 2011
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Subject Matter Highlights
Return to POLITICAL EDUCATION Homepage
CONTACT & ACCESS INFORMATION
This is not a commercial website. The sole purpose of the website is to share with interested persons information regarding civics,
civic and social education, political science, government, politics, law, constitutional law and history, public policy and political
philosophy and history, as well as current and recent political developments, public issues, and political controversies.
POLITICAL EDUCATION, CONSERVATIVE ANALYSIS
POLITICS, SOCIETY, & THE SOVEREIGN STATE
Website of Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.
Government, Politics, Public Policy, Legal Issues, Constitutional Law, Government & the Economy, Cultural Values, Foreign Affairs,
International Relations, Military Defense & National Security, Geopolitics, Terrorism & Homeland Security, American National Interests,
Political Systems & Processes, Political Institutions, Political Ideologies, & Political Philosophy
INDEX FOR THE ENTIRE WEBSITE
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
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