Funding for solar power? Sounds like something Hitler would do.
February 25, 2009 10:35 am ET by Jamison Foser
Wall Street Journal editorial board member Holman Jenkins didn't like Barack Obama's comments about developing renewable energy sources:
Put away the "energy independence" conceit. This notion, a favorite of Tojo and Hitler, was debunked by Churchill, who reasoned that true energy security came from a diversity of suppliers, not the foolish pursuit of self-sufficiency.
The other right-wing media mogul you should worry about
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Overall the online opinion piece you cited is very bad, but I think Holman is right about so-called "energy independence." Tojo and Hitler did try to make their countries energy independent, and it did not turn out well. I would recommend reading Robin M. Mills' book "The Myth of othe Oil Crisis" for further background http://www.oilcrisismyth.com/ or a short opinion piece he had on the Juan Cole's website http://www.juancole.com/2008/09/mills-dangerous-myth-of-energy.html .
Making energy independence guilty by association um? Quite a reach.
There are many good reasons to move beyond burning carbon and many good things that will come from it.
Oil crisis is a myth? Really? Seriously? We don't have a limited supply of that stuff? Only in wingnut world is it a bad thing to pursue making your country independent from other foreign powers in regards to how it powers your society as a whole.
So the rugged individualists are attacking the foolish pursuit of self-sufficiency?
Yes, oil is a finite substance, with only 1-2 million barrels being produced every year by natural processes, but there is still a lot of it, whether as conventional crude, in tar sands or as oil shale. So-called "peak oil" is very far off, at least 30-40 years, if you count conventional oil alone; at least 50 years off if you add in only fractions of unconventional oils. Yes, we should be spending a lot of money and effort to make renewable energy affordable, competitve and a much larger share of the overall energy market, but we aren't facing any immediate crisis in running out of oil.
It is ludicrous to argue that the US is beholden to oil producing nations. You burn oil, you can't drink it, or I at least I don't recommend you try. Most major oil producing nations also have to sell oil to support their economies. If the large oil producing countries refused to sell their oil to the US, they would quickly find themselves with very little cash on had to run their governments. Why do you think Hugo Chavez, for all his anger at the US government, has never threaten Venezuela's flow of oil to the US?
I'll further add that I fully accept the picture of climate change endorsed by the most recent IPCC report and the Stern review done in the UK. I just think that we can put much of the CO2 from the fossil fuels we burn into the ground as a part of carbon sequestration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_sequestration . By the end of the 21st century, we won't need oil or other fossil fuels anymore, anyway. We'll have moved onto other, better sources of energy.
The price, economically and envirenmentally of oil shale and tarsand extraction does nothing positive for either the economy or the envirenment.
Your willing to support drilling for carbon dioxide storage. Are you willing to drill for geothermal sources? It could make CO2 storage irrelivent very quickly.
The price, economically and envirenmentally of oil shale and tarsand extraction does nothing positive for either the economy or the envirenment [sic].
This is a false statement. Environmental impacts are being reduced as industry practice improves and the break even price for getting oil from non-conventional sources is dropping as new technologies are being adopted, though I admit there are not guarantees that tar sands oil or oil shale will live up to their promises. But, then again, there are not guarentees in life except for death and taxes, unless you're U2 http://www.blueoregon.com/2007/02/u2_prattling_bu.html <^_^;> .
Your willing to support drilling for carbon dioxide storage. Are you willing to drill for geothermal sources? It could make CO2 storage irrelivent very quickly.
I support drilling for geothermal. I think we need to put lots of resources into making renewable energy a much larger source of the energy pie. Howveer, I don't understand what would stop people for doing that and sequestering carbon in the ground.