Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future

[The One]

President Obama, March 30, 2011

We cannot keep going from shock to trance on the issue of energy security, rushing to propose action when gas prices rise, then hitting the snooze button when they fall again. The United States of America cannot afford to bet our long-term prosperity and security on a resource that will eventually run out. Not anymore. Not when the cost to our economy, our country, and our planet is so high. Not when your generation needs us to get this right. It is time to do what we can to secure our energy future

Every president since Richard Nixon has called for America’s independence from oil, but Washington gridlock has prevented action again and again. If we want to create a more secure energy future, and protect consumers at the pump, that has to change. When President Obama took office, America imported 11 million barrels of oil a day. Today, he pledged that by a little more than a decade from now, we will have cut that by one-third, and put forward a plan to secure America’s energy future by producing more oil at home and reducing our dependence on oil by leveraging cleaner, alternative fuels and greater efficiency.



Strong words dont you think

http://links.whitehouse.gov/track?type=click&enid=bWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTEwNDMwLjExMjE0MTEmbWVzc2FnZWlkPU1EQi1QUkQtQlVMLTIwMTEwNDMwLjExMjE0MTEmZGF0YWJ hc2VpZD0xMDAxJnNlcmlhbD0xMjc2ODEyMDgyJmVtYWlsaWQ9aG90Ymxvb2QyMUBob3RtYWlsLmNvLnVrJnVzZXJpZD1ob3RibG9 vZDIxQGhvdG1haWwuY28udWsmZmw9JmV4dHJhPU11bHRpdmFyaWF0ZUlkPSYmJg==&&&103&&&http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/blueprint-secure-energy-future?utm_source=email1112&utm_medium=text3&utm_campaign=gasprices

[Nasu]

Sure, strong words, but the reality is that its just hot air, in my opinion. When you look inside the issue, you see that projects that should be green lighted are not and those that merely continue the status quo are reinforced. For example; The Hoover Dam and the energy needs of the South Western United states. The SW has solar radiance levels far exceeding the rest of the US, the solution seems clear, build large solar facilities on cheap desert land and pump the energy to the needy cities. Not so fast, the tax breaks that the investors want are not geared towards such activities, for example the 30% investment credits were cut last December and don't get me started on "Build America Bonds". Even though nearly half of the electricity is lost between the dam and the final destination city due to the fifty year old power lines, the cost of the energy to that city is still subsidized to be so cheap as to make solar seem way too expensive, from solar at between 20 to 30 cents per KWH after build out to Hoover's 2 to 15 cents per KWH without building or repairing anything.

In my opinion, the simple solution, if we truly want our energy revolution / overhaul / independence, is to cut all subsidies to coal, nat gas and oil production and processing and give those same subsidies to wave, wind, solar and geothermal. Until you swap the subsidies, the key investors like Citygroup et al, have no reason to underwrite or invest. Like all things, follow the money, look at the profits of the top five non energy producing corporations, now compare them to the top five oil or energy corporations, do you see the the tens of billions of differences between them? Take those revenues to the IRS away and what do you have? Tens of billions of reasons not to overhaul things, not to change things. At the very least it would seem prudent not to kill this cash cow until there is no further way of exploiting it, or a viable alternative that will continue to generate those large sums is in place... N