The problem with T. Boone Pickens' energy advice
This gets to the basic problem with Pickens' advice:
What we like least about [T. Boone Pickens'] grand scheme is that to pursue the parts of it he personally prefers, Mr. Pickens would rely on government's heavy hand. Without government subsidies, mandates and rights-of-way acquisitions, America's switch from reliance on foreign oil to natural gas and wind-generated power won't happen fast enough to suit him . . .
Labels: Energy
posted by John Lott at 12:20 PM
5 Comments:
But of course oil requires an even a heavier government hand called war. Desert Storm and the current Iraq War were both about securing imported oil supplies. The UN's scandal-ridden "Oil For Food" got the U.S. hooked on Iraqi crude oil in 1998 and Iraq is now one of the most important sources of imported oil in the U.S.
Anonymous -
If Desert Storm and the current Iraq war were about securing oil, why didn't we simply take it? We could've made a fortune. Care to explain why neither President Bush, both of whom were supposedly controlled by "Big Oil," didn't go that route?
Hi tyf-
It's not practical to take it. Billions of barrels of oil will require years to pump out of the ground and ship to the U.S. It would simply be too expensive to keep U.S. troops there that long. The better approach is to have to have happy and productive Iraqis do the work with the help of U.S. oil companies:
http://www.inteldaily.com/?c=163&a=7173
It's also important that oil profits are spent the right away. Palaces, new islands, and shopping malls are good. Nukes are not.
Managing the Middle East is such hard work, but is required to keep the world economy humming along.
O for the Good Old Days, when RR Barons simply bought Congress and the States and no one was the wiser.
Drat the Internet!!
Here's another example of the U.S. Federal government subsidizing oil as opposed to alternative fuels or basic conservation efforts:
http://tinyurl.com/5qurpl
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) today introduced legislation to help families and low income individuals with the rising costs of heating oil for the upcoming winter months. The Home Energy Assistance Today (HEAT) Act would provide an additional $2.5 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), nearly doubling the current level of funding through the program, but also offsetting these funds by repealing an unnecessary tax break for oil companies. Under this legislation, which fully funds LIHEAP to the highest authorized level, New Hampshire would receive nearly $8.4 million in additional formula funding, as well as an estimated $18.7 million in contingency funding which is allocated at the Administration’s discretion. Senator John Sununu (R-NH) is an original cosponsor of this legislation.
Post a Comment
<< Home