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The Senate Shills for Big Oil »
Posted by: Radiofreeeuropa 1 year, 8 months agoIt should be clear to even the most obtuse members that a country that consumes one-fifth of the world's oil but has only 3 percent of its reserves cannot possibly drill its way to energy independence.
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Radiofreeeuropa
All progress comes from unreasonable people.
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Comments: 65
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Radiofreeeuropa
March 3, 2008, 4:13 a.m.fta- It should be clear that an industry whose five biggest producers generated $145 billion in profits last year can easily sacrifice $1.7 billion in annual tax breaks it does not need to help develop the cleaner fuels the country does need.
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Mdiar
March 3, 2008, 4:41 a.m.Great find. Since I was ten I've thought we need to diversify where our energy comes from. If we can become predominantly a "green" nation we can use the electricity generated from that to do electrolysis for hydrogen fuel cells. The key is to be diverse in where our energy is coming from. It won't all be water and it won't all be geothermal, wind or solar. All of them need to be mixed together. This is something I've noticed since I was ten or so. How stupid is government to not realize this? Also, why doesn't big oil realize that they can lead this green "revolution" in the United States? They should be doing what business is supposed to be best at... being innovative and efficient. I mean the United States is very wealthy... we should be able to afford the infrastructure and technology to diversify where our energy comes from and, if willing to go nuclear in places, remove oil/coal from the equation in 20 years, I bet.
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Amazing1
March 3, 2008, 6:23 a.m.Big Oil is nothing if not short sighted. Oil is not a renewable resource. It is a finite commodity. As is nuclear, by the way. As a species, we are failing. Even a dog won't crap where it sleeps.
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ADAGUY
March 3, 2008, 7:15 a.m.Another perfect example of how the energy companies have the politicians in their pockets.
To those of you who ask why I blame Bush for the current economy, this article is self explanatory.
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bruhaha
March 3, 2008, 7:50 a.m.And while we sit with our heads up our behinds, the technology will be developed by other countries. Then, when we do decide to convert our energy, we will gladly pay those foreign companies to use their technology, thereby missing a chance to create jobs here in the US.
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canadianrancher57
March 3, 2008, 9 a.m.bruhaha-I do not usually comment in this way but(SARCASM ON) you could always go and start a war and steal the technology developed by others, you know it would aid the economy and protect American Inerests.(SARCASM OFF)
If the money that has beem spent fighting wars to protect your sources of oil had been spent on developing new energy technology it likely would already be a done deal. Up here in Manitoba right now they are using technology that was developed by Halliburton to suck every last drop of oil from the ground. Yes Halliburton, you know the Iraqi war, oil guys.
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nostalgia
March 3, 2008, 9:52 a.m.As with anything they do, Congress failed to think through a logical energy policy
You need short AND long term goals
You are NOT going to be able to snap your fingers and have all energy generated from "green" sources
Short term - more drilling while alternative sources are developed
You need diversity of sources and funding for research
Congress placed far too much emphasis on corn/ethanol - one of the poorest choices they could have made. Food for fuel should never be an option
I'm certain you are aware who is getting into the use of alternative forms of energy aren't you - the oil companies. Guess who will be lining up for the government handouts??
How does Exxon see alternative energy - "Exxon estimates solar & wind energy demand will grow at a 10% rate annually over the next 25 yrs, but only on the back of govt subsidies & tax breaks to spur investment in cleaner sources."
TV ads from oil companies are touting their use of wind, geothermal etc
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Charlson
March 3, 2008, 10:18 a.m.Gluttonous oil companies are going to do everything they can to keep getting government hand outs even after record profits during the Bush administration. Someone should tell the oil companies that these hand outs are bad PR and they don't really need them. But hey, no one ever said greed would play second fiddle to common sense and honesty.
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dunkirk
March 3, 2008, 11:43 a.m.Great article its always amazing when you look at the balance sheet of Big Oil how they whine and cry about needing all the tax breaks. And is it any wonder we have an energy policy that encourages use of oil?
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Radiofreeeuropa
March 3, 2008, 2:30 p.m.The media has ignored a big story, a very large oil deposit recently discovered in the Gulf of Mexico under U.S. jurisdiction. Thanks to oil lobbyists writing their own legislation and "top secret" Cheney meetings, this resource, owned by the citizens of the United States, will be given free of charge to oil companies who will sell it to the highest bidder. When after Katrina the national oil reserves were tapped to offset damaged rigs in the gulf, that oil, owned by U.S. citizens was sold to foreign markets. Not domestically, to ease suffering of the citizens. I know the chant, free global market! My question is, at what point does "global free markets" (easily manipulated by the way) supersede the nation's interest? At what point is this treasonous?
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Bkumm
March 3, 2008, 6:31 p.m.We can all shout and stamp and whine about this all we want, but the fact remains that until the American people stop thinking about what they want to have short term and start looking at a longer view we're going to go nowhere.
Look, anyone that was paying attention saw this coming as early as the Sixties. In fact, the modified Hubbert peak, saw cheap oil exhausted around 2000. Now, I may be mistaken, but that's about the time this started to get out of control again. Of course that didn't stop Americans from buying more and more and more gas sucking SUV's. You know why? Because they wanted them, that's why. Now the complaining and whining starts about how they can't afford to fill them and the automobile companies whining about how they are losing money because nobody is buying them. A fifth grader (well, probably not anymore) could see this was going to be a problem, but did anybody DO anything? Nope.
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Harbeas
March 3, 2008, 8:33 p.m.It is so discouraging to watch our government refuse to develop an energy policy that has been sorely needed for decades. The only way we can change that is to change the people in government. I am not just talking about the president either. We need to take a very close look at those senators and congressmen/women who are the real culprits here.
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flyonthewallzz
March 3, 2008, 8:49 p.m.I am a dummy:
It may be worth while for all the smart folks here to google stuff like:
The Paley Commission: 1952 report that predicted oil shortages and recommended "aggressive research in the whole field of solar energy - an effort in which the United States could make an immense contribution to the welfare of the world."
The Oil spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF): Basically the industry paid a nickel a barrel for a while (after the Valdez) and now they are not liable for damages they do more than their self insured amount.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR): As far as I can make out it is an ever fattening piggy bank for the industry. They can pay in "royalty in kind" instead of paying us royalties they fill the SPR with the type oil they don't really want. Almost half of the refineries can not efficiently process the stuff. Fuel prices go up whenever there is legislation to increase the fill. They are hoping to increase the capacity to a billion barrels.
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Bkumm
March 3, 2008, 9:03 p.m.Here's the worst part. Gasoline supplies are at record levels and there is a glut at the refineries. The record prices we're seeing at the pump are the result of speculation in oil. Can anyone say Great Depression? I knew you could.
Oh and flyonthewalzz, Big Oil is evil enough without the argument that they helped the Luftwaffe.
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jmopinion
March 3, 2008, 9:13 p.m.Release the frickin strategic oil reserves or threaten to release the oil and do it before its too late.
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rimbaud
March 3, 2008, 9:48 p.m.Energy is not our only problem: our food and water sources are also in trouble. We need to be conservative, not liberal, in our use of all our planet's natural resources. We don't even need to cut our use... just our waste!
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hdthehn
March 3, 2008, 11 p.m.Shell Oil recently bought Siemens Solar a manufacturer of solar panels and renamed the company Shell Solar. At first I thought they were seeing the writing on the wall that the days of oil as an energy source are numbered. But the prices at Shell Solar have increased dramatically and availability has diminished. They are quietly doing their part to keep renewable energy under wraps.
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