Energy Independence Promised Again

Ronald Bailey | January 31, 2006

We are addicted to oil as a transport fuel and likely to be for some time to come. Nixon, Carter, Bush I, and Clinton all had new high tech car initiatives--internal combustion cars still dominate. As I've argued before, energy independence is a chimera. Tech is the solution to our energy conundrums, but history teaches that government tech initiatives are not likely to work.

Comments

|1.31.06 @ 10:04PM|#

But, Ron, are you willing to let repeated failure of past policy undermine your optimism? Didn't you hear the applause? It must be a good idea.

|1.31.06 @ 10:43PM|#

Yeah, we have give up on our addiction to oil, and while we're at it let's also give up our addictions of ingesting plant and animal matter, fresh water and air while we're at it.

Using rhetorical scare words like "addiction" to describe a necessity of modern life does not make it any less a necessity. We use petroleum products to power our transportation needs because at this time it is the best choice for meeting those needs and will be for the forseeable future. Perhaps we'll find better alternative in the future, but that is not right now.

kgsam|1.31.06 @ 11:33PM|#

history teaches that government tech initiatives are not likely to work.

kgsam|1.31.06 @ 11:44PM|#

Why not? Because government programs become about the money and not the solution.

(I don't know why this part didn't make it in the previous post, I remember writing it.)

johnl|2.1.06 @ 12:00AM|#

Why can't we drive our cars and heat our homes with the power of faith?

amazingdrx|2.1.06 @ 12:28AM|#

So that's the libertarian POV on energy policy.

Let OPEC and big oil do what thou wilt? corporate hedonism? Kinky.

|2.1.06 @ 12:33AM|#

Why can't we drive our cars and heat our homes with the power of faith?

I have a statue of Jesus on my dashboard. It hasn't improved my mileage, but it does help me make all the lights.

|2.1.06 @ 12:36AM|#

amazingdrx, I'd consider laying out libertarian energy policy for you, but the likelyhood that you would even be paying attention, to say nothing of the chances that you'd approach it with an open mind aren't terribly likely.

|2.1.06 @ 1:38AM|#

media,
"I'd consider laying out libertarian energy policy for you"

Will you do it for me? I'll pay attention and it won't be a waste of time.

Thanks

|2.1.06 @ 1:39AM|#

media,
"I'd consider laying out libertarian energy policy for you"

Will you do it for me? I'll pay attention and it won't be a waste of time.

Thanks

amazingdrx|2.1.06 @ 2:14AM|#

Well geek, I do know what it is.

No subsidies or tax incentives. A level playing field based on free markets, right?

Except, well maybe.. a few tax breaks for nuke you ler , oil, coal... uhh.. hehey..

But DEFINITELY NO subsidies for that damn hippy solar and wind power!!! It's creeping communism!!

And no damn wimpy electric cars dammit!! A nice throaty vrooom is the only thing that makes you all real men!!

Did I guess right geek?

|2.1.06 @ 2:47AM|#

Amazingdrx-

I'm pretty sure you guessed wrong. I'm not too sure who's version of libertarianism you were channelling, and there are multiple variations, but the stated postition of the Libertarian Party is this:

>

So, that's at least a place to start...

Matt

amazingdrx|2.1.06 @ 4:37AM|#

Thanks matt, interesting position.

I'm sure wind and solar would hold it's own under those conditions, were they possible in this corporatist bushwacked age and place.

For me practical results over ride political purity under the various threats of continuing on the present course of oily monopoly war, resulting terror attacks, and global climate disaster.

I am a big fan of the chaotic nature of reality unchained by human tyranny, thus the libertarian POV is an appealing one.

But chaos is not randomness, far from it. One starts out in the storm of revolution from the point we are at right now. A point largely affected by the overwhelming tyranny of monopolistic economic forces working in concert with corrupt government.

So subsidize wind and solar for a decade or so to level the playing field, and eliminate all subsidies to the monoplists to pay for it.

amazingdrx|2.1.06 @ 5:40AM|#

The oil mob got 15 billion in the last fiscal year in subsidies, take that away and buy 100,000 electric plugin hybrid cars for government replacement fleet vehicles on the local, state, and federal level. This creates mass production efficiency and cost reduction.

And pay 30% of the cost of small to medium solar and wind systems on homes and small businesses, and give the green energy credits to the owners to help pay for the systems also. More mass production.

Buy solar, wind, and geothermal heat pump systems to power government buildings. It saves taxpayers money on energy and creates mass production efficiencies.

Fund energy purchasing contracts for government electric power use from large wind and solar systems. Spurring more mass production.

Then the manufacturing revival created will in turn boost the tax base, paying the tacpayers back the 15 billion and more.

Apply this amount..saved by eliminating oil company subsidies for 10 years. Exponential demand will start up for these products in a few years. At the end of 10 years drop all the subsidies.

We arrive at the libertarian energy policy in the end. What could be more liberating than every home and business supplying it's own energy needs?

Especially once the systems are payed off, about 10 years, then the power is essentially free.

The (failed)promise of nuclear power? Electricity too cheap to meter?

Well no, because you will still be able to sell excess power back to the utility, maybe even negating the damnable property taxes on your home?

|2.1.06 @ 8:54AM|#

drx:

I condemn your desire to take my hard-earned money in order to provide corporate welfare to Big Solar and Big Wind.

|2.1.06 @ 9:13AM|#

I condemn your desire to take my hard-earned money in order to provide corporate welfare to Big Solar and Big Wind.

And there is no need for it. There is no such thing as global warming, that is a scientifically proven fact. Before we change anything, we need absolute evidence it is happening.

We can never run out of oil. That is absolutely impossible, the supply is infinite. It just gets more expensive to find, but higher prices will support exploration. As long as we continue to look we will allways find more. Because of economic laws there will allways be more oil.

SUVs are the car of the future, we need to start drilling anywhaere and everywhere so we can get more cheap oil so we can all drive one.

|2.1.06 @ 11:35AM|#

Joe, Turn on the air conditioning. Chill.

amazingdrx|2.1.06 @ 1:00PM|#

Hmmm, no intelligible response.

And I was the one who was unlikely to consider YOUR energy policy? Hehehey.