The American Spectator : Keep the Lights On

Text Size

Keep the Lights On

By Peter Ferrara on 5.5.10 @ 6:08AM

The oil spill in the Gulf is no reason to shut down the American economy or remain indifferent to its need for reliable, low cost energy.

The oil spill off the coast of Louisiana is an environmental tragedy that endangers the prosperity of coastal businesses that thrive on the natural environment, such as fishing and tourism. It is not a reason to permanently deny America the jobs and prosperity that come from a vibrant energy industry producing much needed, reliable, low cost energy from all sources. That would be a far bigger tragedy, even graver than the oil spill.

A robust, booming, American energy industry would itself contribute directly to a booming American economy. If America was the world's number one oil producer, just think what that would mean in terms of higher GDP, national income, and high paying jobs. Now suppose America was the world's number one natural gas producer as well, and the number one coal producer, and the number one producer of nuclear power. This all can and should be true.

Moreover, think what that would mean for the prosperity of the economy as a whole. Reliable supplies of low cost energy promote booming economic growth, particularly in the manufacturing sector that so many people profess to be concerned about. Reliable, low cost energy means oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear power.

I am not saying we should not produce renewable, alternative energy as well. By all means, go ahead, knock yourself out. Neither government nor anyone else should stand in your way. If we saw half as much doing in regard to such alternative energy as we see talking about it, we would surely have produced more real progress by now. And I am not saying we are not doing anything.

But as a replacement for the traditional energy sources, long time energy authority Robert Bryce explains why renewable, alternative energy is a delusion in his new book, Power Hungry: The Myths of "Green" Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future. That conclusion is a matter of math and science, not ideology. Let me second energy expert William Tucker, who in his review of Bryce's book on this site last week, noted it makes for "endlessly fascinating reading."

Energy and Economic Growth

Bryce writes, "[T]he simple, unavoidable truth is that using oil makes us rich. In fact, if oil didn't exist, we'd have to invent it…as oil consumption increases, so does prosperity. And the correlation is so clear as to be undeniable."

The OECD countries, basically the prosperous, developed countries of the West, generally produce about $25,000 to $30,000 GDP per capita, and use 14 to 16 barrels of oil per person a year. In 2008, U.S. per capita GDP was $48,100, while oil use was 23 barrels per capita. By contrast, the non-OECD countries produce $7,000 to $10,000 GDP per capita, and consume 3 to 5 barrels per person. The countries of Africa and Asia produce $2,000 to $4,000 in per capita GDP, and use 1 to 2 barrels per person.

That is no accident. As Bryce writes, "[T]hanks to its high energy density, oil is a nearly perfect fuel for use in all types of vehicles, from boats and planes to cars and motorcycles. Whether measured by weight or by volume, refined oil products provide more energy than practically any other commonly available substance, and they provide it in a form that's easy to handle, relatively cheap, and relatively clean." Moreover, oil is the only fuel that can power the modern engines of economic prosperity, the diesel engine and the jet turbine.

Besides oil, prosperity is fueled in the world today by electricity. And right now, that means coal, though the future may belong to natural gas and nuclear power. While only Canada among major countries has higher per capita electricity consumption than America, the five countries with the lowest electricity consumption are Gaza, Chad, Burundi, Central African Republic, and Rwanda.

You can see this in your own home. The American kitchen of three decades ago featured a refrigerator, stove and toaster. But today, Bryce writes, that same kitchen will include as well, "a microwave oven, bread maker, coffeemaker, juicer, convection oven, dishwasher and food processor. And a few steps away, where there once was only a small black-and-white television, there is now a giant-screen TV, a DVD player, and digital video recorder, as well as a laptop computer and ink-jet printer. In 1980, the average U.S. household had just three consumer electronic products. Today, it has about twenty-five."

Coal today produces 41% of the world's electricity supply, followed by natural gas at 20%, hydropower (geologically limited) at 16%, and nuclear at 15%. Oil at 6% (old-fashioned for electricity production) is still three times "other" at 2%. Coal's proportion has been increasing since 1973, and will continue to increase at least through 2030.

Every grownup outside of Greenpeace, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club understands what this means. Bryce writes, "The world's developing countries are using their coal for electricity generation, and that electricity is propelling economic growth around the world, particularly in rapidly developing countries such as China, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Between 1990 and 2008, electricity generation in those three countries jumped by more than 300 percent." As a result, just the increase in world coal use from 2007 to 2008 produced 25 times as much energy as all the wind turbines and solar panels in America in 2008.

Indeed, Bryce shows that just one modern coal mine in Kentucky, the 35th largest in America, produces nearly as much energy as all wind and solar in the U.S. And the natural gas production from just one state, Oklahoma, produces well over nine times as much energy as all U.S. wind and solar.

Bryce adds, "[I]f we want to help developing countries bring more people out of poverty, we need to help them increase the amount of electricity they generate and distribute." And that means still more coal, as well as natural gas and nuclear power.

Page: 1 2 3 >

About the Author

Peter Ferrara is Senior Fellow at the Carleson Center for Public Policy, Director of Entitlement and Budget Policy for the Heartland Institute, and General Counsel of the American Civil Rights Union. He served in the White House Office of Policy Development under President Reagan, and as Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States under the first President Bush. He is the author of America’s Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb, now available from HarperCollins.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (133) | Leave a comment

Pingback| 5.5.10 @ 6:27AM

Twitter Trackbacks for The American Spectator : Keep the Lights On [spectator.org] o links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…and tweets Tweets only Your email address (required): Topsy Retweet Button Add Topsy Retweet Button to your Blog or Web Site. WordPress Web Sites 2 tweets tweet 2 All 1 Influential The American Spectator : Keep the Lights On spectator.org/archives/2010/05/05/keep-the-lights-on – view page – cached The oil spill off the coast of Louisiana is an environmental tragedy that endangers the prosperity of…

Pingback| 5.5.10 @ 6:42AM

Must Know Headlines 5.5.2010 — ExposeTheMedia.com links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Oil Disaster Adds Urgency To Energy Bill Reid Wants To Speed Up Bank Bill DNC Trying To Make Money Off Of Tragedy That Killed 11 Americans The Oil Spill In The Gulf Is No Reason To Shut Down The American Economy Or Remain Indifferent To Its Need For Reliable, Low Cost Energy Goldman Was Top Donor To Obama And Senator Chris Dodd, Regulatory Reform Bill Enables Them There Has Been A Federal Government Plan In Place…

TennesseeVolunteer| 5.5.10 @ 7:45AM

Peter, I'll get the book! this is a weell laid out set of facts for the prudent use of these energies. If houses are build with low cost, high energy efficient insulations, america will be humming again. Unfortunately, we have an ideology problem and Nov. 2, 2010 is our Independence Day!

Alan Brooks| 5.5.10 @ 2:56PM

Run good candidates (who are largely unknown at this time) and I'll vote for them. What I totally disagree with is the claim that all Dems are fools. Reagan Democrats DO still exist, they are not mythical creatures such as unicorns.

AmenBro| 5.7.10 @ 2:39PM

You ENLIGHTENED FOLKS need to read RED STATE BLUE STATE. Its okay you can still come on here and mis-portray REALITY.. Facts Jack ARE,,,RICH PEOPLE VOTE DEM,,,,not POOR PEOPLE. Dodd's home-state, Connecticut is demographically compared to poor people majority state MISSISSIPPI in this Democrat written POLI SCI book .

Course that's all STATISTICAL FACT,,,not a CARTOON,,, justa as the 20 million dollars DODD got from WALL STREET is his take with him,,,WALKIN AROUND CASH when he retires. Is it me or has anyone mentioned,,,,,,,,,Connecticut is a "BANKING INTEREST RICH ", STATE.

After all DODD REALLY WAS SERIOUS ,,, You remember.....ABOUT RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT,,, in 2008 ,,,,,,,,,,NNNNoooooo he wasn't using that as a vehicle to amass millions from his cheating with the GOP LOVERS in BANKING RICH CONNECTICUT & WALL STREET. Chris "ARMS AROUND COUNTRYWIDE" Dodd's,, intro is so poignant,,,,,what no additional intro from CHUCKIE SCHUMER OR LOLLIPOP BARNEY,,,, excuse me,,,,,,save it,,,,that's another tawdry episode ,,,,,now

AS CORRUPTION TURNS like plowshares into the retiring Senator's 20 MILLION CAMPAIGN FUND festooned by FINANCIAL INTERESTS ,,,,,we now take you to our next episode of ,,,,,

DAYS OF DEMOCRAT WALL STREET LIVES. gest staring AL FRANKIN

EPILOGUE BY,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Its okay,,,,, 5 MILLION FY2009 as per family IRS tax return,,,,,,,,HEAD MF IN CHARGE,,,,,BO Hussein Obama. ReeeeeLAXXXXx,,,, OBAMA knows when people make TOOO MUCH MONEY

You know well intentioned folks like DODD & FRANKIN & SCHuMER, and SOROS and BUFFET and GOLDMAN SACHs,,,,,HMMMMM Oh yeah,,,,, in 2008 GOLDIE's SACK donated a cool million & pocket change to PRES. OBO. Didn't BARHUSOBO win the highest recipient of campaign cash TITLE for his selfless sacraficial acceptance of BRIBES oooops I mean campaign donation from BP i.

i.)For Progressives sake BP means BRITISH PETRO;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;as in the GULF OF MEXICO

Yup as Harry Reid,,,,paragon of virtue he is put it,,,ITS,,,,,,,,,,(Monty Python PAUSE),,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,THE GOP MAKIN LOVE TO WALL STREET.

NAW,,,,,that sounds way too much like a FRANKIN Saturday Nite Live Skit. Better still a TEA BAG conspiracy

SOUNDS LIKE SLOPPY AS HAIL SECONDS TO ME.

Course,,,,,,,,my post,,,,,,you can dismiss cause its so,,,,,,,,COARSE.. Liberal,,,scuse me,,,PROGRESSIVES,,, are so smart. When I grow up I want to be as smart as you.

Don Draper| 5.5.10 @ 7:49AM

There is an element of schadenfreude involved with BP's "Beyond Petroleum" marketing campaign and their recent troubles. Looks like a job for Sterling Cooper to me!

Jim O'Brien| 5.5.10 @ 7:54AM

Nuclear power plants should be built "yesterday", as if our very lives depended upon it. For decades the U.S. has been frightened away from nuclear energy, largely due to the Three Mile Island accident, even though the amount of radiation leaked was about the same as a chest X-ray. We have our heads up our asses.

Old Soldier| 5.5.10 @ 8:04AM

Am I the only one who is more than a little suspicious of the mysterious explosion on the BP oil platform?

Who else is seriously pissed at the idea of Chinese and Russians slant drilling our oil from Cuban waters?

Jim O'Brien| 5.5.10 @ 8:31AM

Since the cause is still unknown, the federal government should at least consider the possibility of terrorism. Of course Obama and his fellow socialist dolts would prefer to think that it was corporate negligence, or even the work of the Tea Party.

Rmm| 5.5.10 @ 8:44AM

OS, no you're not. The jury is still out, but another 'crisis' for O should raise some eyebrows. Coincidence or not, these types of 'accidents' rarely happen anymore, at least in this country.

NavyBrat| 5.5.10 @ 8:47AM

Old Soldier, you're NOT the only one who's a little suspicious. While the cleanup needs to take place quickly, which it hasn't, there also needs to be an investigation as to the cause. God forbid anyone remembers that 11 guys died in this disaster. Its not at all surprising to me that NO mention has been made of the investigation by ANYONE in the propaganda wing of the Dem party (the MSM) or the administration, but it IS disquieting.

And yes, I too am more than pissed about the slant drilling going on off Cuba. And I wonder who's neck the adminstration would have their boot on if there was an oil spill caused by either the Chinese or the Russians. I doubt the villification machine would get as ginned up in tht instance as it has against BP in THIS instance.

Alan Brooks| 5.5.10 @ 2:52PM

"Am I the only one who is more than a little suspicious of the mysterious explosion on the BP oil platform?"

Who is it this time!
Jack Ruby? Great Caesar's ghost?

Alan Brooks| 5.5.10 @ 3:11PM

Rightwing conspiracy theories have become as boring as leftwing theories (controlled demolition at WTC, and of course Halliburton). The leftwingnuts are hooked on post- Warren Commission nonsense.
In the case of rightwingnuts a big cause is white trash eschatology; the New World Order; Illuminati.
A partial list of alleged conspirators involved in the Gulf oil rig explosion:
1) David Ferrie
2) Jimmy Hoffa
3) Rudolf Hess
4) Leon Trotsky
5) Shemp of the Three Stooges
6) The Federal Reserve
7) Kato Kaelin
8) the Three Musketeers
9) Paul Newman's heirs (they wanted Newman salad oil to leak into the Gulf, but had to settle for petroleum)
10) Leona Helmsley

Scott| 5.5.10 @ 5:35PM

No, you're not the only one. There are plenty of crackpots in the world.

Why can you just not believe that accidents can happen? That it has to be sabotage, that will end up costing BP $3b.

Old Soldier| 5.5.10 @ 6:05PM

I'm not convinced of anything yet - just saying that it's a hell of a coincidence. Sure is great news for:
Environmental Groups
Other Oil Producing Countries
Marxists and anyone who wants to see the U.S. weak

When gas is $5 a gallon this summer, lots of people are going to be suspicious.

Alan Brooks| 5.5.10 @ 10:03PM

Old Soldier, the concussive effects of the artillery might have left you a little shellshocked. If you cultivate conspiracy theories (even if you are "not convinced of anything yet") you are as silly as the guys who think the Bilateral Commission is fluoridating Girl Scout cookies with Lee Harvey Oswald's bodily fluids..

Alan Brooks| 5.5.10 @ 10:18PM

Ten more unindicted co-conspirators involved in the BP rig explosion:
11) Elvis Presley
12) the Phantom of the Opera
13) Godzilla
14) Tom Mix
15) Kermit the Frog
16) Fatty Arbuckle
17) Karen Carpenter
18) Donald Manes
19) Rasputin
20) Annette Funicello
15)

Alan Brooks| 5.5.10 @ 10:22PM

Oops, an extra 15 by mistake? alright then:
EDWARD EVERETT HORTON was another conspirator.

ITFossil| 5.6.10 @ 5:20PM

The only thing anyone should be suspicious of is who is paying for the disaster at $5 gallon.
BTW, the greatest beneficiaries will be right-wing whackjobs. The loss of the Gulf fishing industry, tourism and rising fuel prices to pay for the cleanup this summer are almost a lock to cause a double-dip recession and Dem policy failure. Just what conservatives have been drooling for.

Melvin| 5.5.10 @ 8:44AM

People, the environmentalists and those who want to choke of US energy production for the longest time didn't have a leg to stand on, because drilling for oil since the 1960s disaster off CA have been safe, and clean.
Safety drilling was a religion to the oil drilling crews because their very lives depended on it.
Governors were begrudgingly had to admit, "That maybe drilling for oil off the coast could coexist with tourism and fishing.
Then the President with the extremely surprising policy of, "We need to start drilling for oil again" comes from Left field considering his previous anti-fossil fuels stance. Barrack Obama despised the Coal and Oil Industry, so his willingness to allow drilling made the hairs on my neck stand up. because something was amiss with his new found love for oil, especially with his remarks of wanting to get the price of gasoline up to 8 or ten dollars a gallon.
Then as if on cue we have a mysterious catastrophic oil rig explosion with subsequent oil leakage.
No one sees an urgency here and it takes 8 or nine days for someone from the government to realize, "Hey, there's an oil slick out there!" followed by multiple overflights of government bureaucrats saying," Yep, theres an oil slick there alright."
My opinion of this is, that the administration wants this oil slick to hit our shores because for starters the coastal governors are already decrying, "There will never ever be any offshore oil drilling," Environmentalists are beaming, "See, see we told you so that drilling for oil was wrong."
And the President just sits quietly back in the White House know that the governors, Senators, Congressmen, and various environmental groups will do his dirty work for him by not allowing any oil exploration and drilling anywhere.
Barrack Obama has single handily set the oil industry back sixty or more years by having a convenient oil rig explosion.
Aslo don't forget he also signed into law last year banning oil drilling and exploration by placing millions upon millions of acres that sit on Federal land with millions of barrels of oil and oil shale sitting beneath it.
In less than two years this man and his administration is in the process of destroying the Coal and Oil industry in which this Country vitally needs.
Well, I guess we better get used to riding our Chines made bicycles to work. "Oh, wait a minute, there is no work to go to, because our State already has used up its monthly quota of electricity from the Federal government. Dear, dear now where did we put those candles?"

Ken (Old Texican)| 5.5.10 @ 9:14AM

Mr. Ferrara,
thank you once again for a solid article.

I am not...I am not..... going to let my paranoia get the best of me.

If though, the oil and gas producers get fed up with the campaign being waged against them, and turn off the oil for a mere week.....and it slaps the uninformed American people in the chops with no lights and no gas for their cars...
......the American people will BECOME informed and right quick.
How many here remember the 1973 gas lines at filling stations across the US?

Son Of Sam| 5.5.10 @ 10:53AM

I remember it very well...I also remember "odd even days" and feeling lucky that my dad had a commercial license plate so that he could get gasoline any day he wanted.

I also remember an ASSHOLE who styled himself our "President", who basically told us that we had been "greedy" for far too long, told us how we would have to "get used to less" and told us it was all the fault of we the American people.

What I remember most of all however, were the pictures on the nightly news of the slime of humanity holding Americans hostage, blindfolded and at gunpoint, while our so-called "commander in chief" wrung his hands like the impotent crybaby he was.

Great introduction to the adult world when I still in middle school

Sound familar? Anyone?

stand strong until freedom dawns
Son Of Sam

ITFossil| 5.6.10 @ 5:24PM

I remember them well. I also remember when there was such a thing as "foreign oil". The only thing remaining from those days are foreign oil profits and American oil profits.

bobinva| 5.5.10 @ 9:21AM

"Barrack Obama has single handily set the oil industry back sixty or more years by having a convenient oil rig explosion." This is one of the most paranoid statements ever uttered. Please try to deal with reality, not right wing fantasies like the president WANTING or CREATING an off shore explosion. Didn't he just announce a major offshore expansion? To suggest he wanted this tragedy is perverse.

Melvin| 5.5.10 @ 10:08AM

Plaease, give me a proverbial break. Is it no less perverse than Barrack Obama wanting to shut down the coal industry and consumers paying 8 to 10 a gallon for gasoline?
The gov. of CA, Ahhhnold had a news conference yesterday and said, "There will never ever be drilling off the Coast of Calyfornia." Ben Nelson from Florida said, "Nope, not going to happen."
Can't you see Barrack Obama even though he said what he said can walk away politically blameless. Because Coastal Governors and the environmental movement will litigate to death the oil industry in wanting to get permission to drill or even explore for fossil fuels.
Come stop playing the, "Naiveté " card here. You happier than a fly sitting on top a pile of dog squeeze all by itself, with the way this, "Drill here, drill now" has turned out. Because we both know it isn't going to happen now.

ITFossil| 5.6.10 @ 5:30PM

Melvin: You're already paying nearly double that for gasoline now. A significant portion of your tax burden pays for the military (and State Dept) we need in order to pretend that we're only paying $3-4/gallon for gasoline. Coal is of course a different issue.

Yosemeti Sam| 5.5.10 @ 9:34AM

Um - according to scarce details, there was a
complement of 126 on board the BP rig that
exploded.

11 are reportedly missing.

Leaving 115 'survivors'.

And where - in the LBSM PEN1 - are their tales
to tell???????????????????????????????

What's with the blackout?

BTW - speaking of blackouts - where is the
industrious LBSM PEN1 on the whereabouts of
that Mao Zedong White House Christmas tree
ornament?

Thought I'd forgotten about that, eh? LOL.

Pingback| 5.5.10 @ 9:44AM

Must Reads for May 5 | NetRight Daily links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…which firms are dependent on Federal Reserve subsidies, systemic risk within the system could be identified by markets, instead of kept under a shroud of secrecy as under the current system.” Keep the Lights On Dems: New Offshore Drilling ‘Dead on Arrival’ Weighing the Benefits and Costs of Offshore Drilling Time for Some Oil Spill Perspective Big Brother Is Watching You: Students React Socialists…

Jack Shotton| 5.5.10 @ 9:47AM

Only 300 hp/acre out of a nuclear plant? That's not right. Not even close. You get more than 300 hp out of a car engine.

South Texan| 5.5.10 @ 11:53AM

At South Texas Project, just the cooling pond is 7000 acres. There is also a lot of land that is kept unused for wildlife etc. STP generates 1340 megawatts of electricity with each unit. Both units have over 90% capacity factor, that means they keep running reliably. The cost for this power is still cheaper than coal, oil, or natural gas. Hydro is the only thing that is better but hydro has limmited availability. Nuclear is still the best energy for the future.

BILL HAUGLAND| 5.5.10 @ 9:51AM

Thanks for such an interesting and informational summary on the status of "Energy". I only hope/wish those trying to save the "earth" (environmentalists) would take time to educate themselves with facts not rhetoric.

owyheewine| 5.5.10 @ 10:13AM

I would quibble only with the acceptance that the current blowout (it's not a spill) is an environmental disaster. Containment, dispersal and collection have kept oil away from the coast. Certainly some oil will get ashore, but most will be picked up. The coastal marshes along the gulf are also continually flushed with fresh water from inland, so any uncontained residue will fairly quickly be flushed out of the "fragile ecosystem" that gets repeated daily.
I don't want to say that the blowout is not a bad incident and a black eye to offshore energy production, but the effects so far have been grossly exaggerated.
Very few facts have emerged from the investigation of the incident, and any judgement is very premature. The rig was in the process of disconnecting from the well when the incident happened. There are strict procedures for that kind of operation, but someting went terribly wrong. We all should hold our fire on pointing fingers until more information is available.

Ken (Old Texican)| 5.5.10 @ 10:15AM

Northern Rebel

I have found three tool and die shops here that are hiring. Some C&C some manual.
kbjudgeroybean06@gmail.com

Also
An electrical contractor friend here in Houston needs one or perhaps two industrial duty type electricians if anyone is looking.

Pingback| 5.5.10 @ 10:57AM

Keep the Lights On | Informations from foreign links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…oil spill off the coast of Louisiana is an environmental tragedy that endangers the prosperity of coastal businesses that thrive on the natural environment, such as fishing and tourism. Original post by import from url This entry was posted on środa, Maj 5th, 2010 at 3:08 pm and is filed under 126913 . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your…

Anthony| 5.5.10 @ 11:04AM

Melvin is absolutely right!! When Obama's press goon, Gibbs, jumped ugly on Wendell Golar of FOX, who hinted that Obama was exploiting the crisis to halt offshore drilling, you knew that Golar hit Obama square on the chin.
Connecting the dots is not something the leftist intellectual class is interested in, however facts speak for themselves:
1) "A crisis is too important to waste". Rahm Immanuel.
2) Obama's first response (9 days later) is to dispatch swat teams of lawyers and enviro nut jobs, not engineers, the navy, or coast guard, who actually have ships to help contain the spill.
3) It takes Obama 9 days to react.
4) Obama's first edict in response to the spill is to halt all off shore drilling until the cause of this disaster is known.
Unfortunately for "The One", he has not been able to suspend the laws of unintended consequences. In Obama's Marxist zeal to bring America to 3rd world status, he has inadvertently forced his pet media to muse that the Obama administration's reaction was a total screwup. Add to this the alternative media, who speak to Obama's true desires, and in the end, Obama's slick ploy will backfire on him, not to mention how many more Ds will loose their seats with $5.00 a gal gas.
B.P. will pay a price, and rightly so, but B.P. and other oil companies still are providing a vital service to all Americans, and the "intellectual class" has lost its ability to dissuade Americans of this fact.
In the meantime, while Obama and the enviro nut jobs blab away, the private sector is doing the hard work of the clean up, along with our now unleashed navy and coast guard.
Kinda tells you who is really important in the scheme of things, the private sector and our military.
P.S. Spare me the crap about the private sector causing this in the 1st place. The only reason why you idiots on the left are reading this is because of the private sector.

JP| 5.5.10 @ 11:32AM

The core of the issue is prosperity and control. These modern day Calvanists despise the spread of prosperity; energy consumption is just an expression of that prosperity. If we found a way to create free, clean energy the Left would still complain.

And one of the reasons we have to go to such lengths to get oil (deep sea drilling) is because a)Most federal land is off limits to even exploration b)the government places severe restrictions on nuclear power and c) coal and shale are restricted. There is also a childish reaction many Americans have towards fossil fuels. Of course, that goes away once the thermometer hits 110 deg or goes below -5 deg.

Pingback| 5.5.10 @ 12:07PM

Cinco de Mayo History: An American Celebration of the Battle of Puebla – ABC News | T links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

… - Seyoh all 899 news articles » View full post on cinco de mayo history – Google News Possibly related posts: (automatically generated) Related posts on American The American Spectator : Keep the Lights On The American Spectator : News Quiz for Discerning American … Related posts on Battle Battle of Puebla: French Intervention in Mexico | Seven Sided Cube Did You Know? Cinco de Mayo…

John DuBose| 5.5.10 @ 12:09PM

In just a few months, it will be clear that the big bad oil spill just was not that bad. BP will settle some big lawsuits. Life will go on. The talking heads of the leftist media will ignore that fact.

Appleby| 5.6.10 @ 11:44AM

I agree. This is the same as that volcano that everyone has already forgotten about, and Mt. St. Helens, and those oil wells that Saddam set on fire that the Hollyweirds claimed would cause Nuclear Winter and lay waste the earth. It took Red Adairs crews no time at all to extinguish them and they never had any effect at all on the atmosphere.

Stuff happens. People deal with it and life goes on. Screaming also goes on, but genenerally by people without any life experience or scientific knowledge.

Pingback| 5.5.10 @ 12:23PM

Black Hopefuls Pick This Year in G.O.P. Races : links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Raised About Holes in System – DeYoung & Kornblut, Wash Post The Enemy We Can’t Name – David Harsanyi, Denver Post No Fooling Mother Nature – Thomas Friedman, New York Times Keep the Lights On – Peter Ferrara, The American Spectator Do Disasters Help Party Associated With Big Gov? – John Dickerson, Slate Failure of Washington is Common Theme – Newt Gingrich, Human Events…

GB in TN| 5.5.10 @ 12:24PM

Top of the World, Ma!

Great article explaining why our greed and prosperity override all equations.

Whats the payback on a 200 million dollar military jet?

Since we are depleting the future use of oil by millenia of people ... well, I guess they don't matter ... it's just me that matters.

Oil and technology has doubled our population in the last forty years ... depleted many ALMOST limitless stocks and numbers of countless species and natural resources.

Altogether, a shallow, shortsighted treatment of resources owned by all but claimed by a few and pissed away for .... gadgets.

I'm a conservative. My freedom and liberty is not based on oil. Nor does some flimsy scheme of property justify our depletion of resources with FINITE limits in just a few generations.

Expand your scope of analysis to the next 1000 years or just go back to your precious refrigerator and grab another pack of red meat to throw to the flatheads here who pretend that conservative thought is connected to the right of profligate consumption.

J.P. Travis| 5.5.10 @ 12:42PM

"My freedom and liberty is not based on oil." Well, yes, it really is, unless you think we can dial back to an 18th century economy without serious political repercussions. By the way, you claim that we've eliminated countless species in the last forty years. By "we" I assume that you mean the United States. Can you name even five U.S. species that have gone extinct in the last forty years? I doubt it. The myth of mass extinction, similar to the myth of peak oil, is belied by the increasing number of known species on biologists' lists.

Melvin| 5.5.10 @ 3:02PM

So with this mindset I suppose you run around naked, claim squatters rights, and live in the neighbors shed, and crap in his yard?
Because with true liberty and freedom you do not recognize the rule of law and private property rights, but rather the rule of men which equates to mob rule.
"If I can take it, it's mine," This is the mentality of the government. Government can take our homes, our money, and even our self-respect, to which is applied to those who feel that producing citizens, "Owe them."
But then again it's easey to say, that your life is based on freedom and liberty when someone else has to foot the bill.

JimE| 5.5.10 @ 5:45PM

GB, You are using an electric powered computer so you are part of the problem. Go hang around algore's place or play in the street.

Bram| 5.6.10 @ 7:45AM

"My freedom and liberty is not based on oil."

Correct (except for the grammar). Your freedom is based on the Constitution.

However, your prosperity and standard of living are absolutely based on oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear power. Visit somewhere people don’t have powered machinery and electricity. Their lives are short and miserable.

Appleby| 5.6.10 @ 11:49AM

GB, how many binkies do you own? Do you think you can run your iPhone on solar power, or your Nintendo Wii via windmill? How are you going to keep the beer cold without oil and refineries? How is your Mom going to cook your meals, do your laundry and keep your bathroom fresh and clean, without Oil?

In fact, do you realize that virtually all your toys are made with, and of, petroleum products? Or did you think they grew on low-hanging bushes somewhere on the Big Rock Candy Mountain?

Louis Jenkins| 5.5.10 @ 12:40PM

There's something here that just doesn't add up. Only time will tell.

J.P. Travis| 5.5.10 @ 12:41PM

J.P. Travis| 5.5.10 @ 12:43PM

Sorry, didn't mean to post this twice. Is there no way to delete a comment?

GB in TN| 5.5.10 @ 1:21PM

Top of the World, Ma!!

Seems like if you're saying:

Without Oil there is no Freedom or Liberty.

It would follow that:
We are Slaves to Oil. How can a Slave have Freedom and Liberty?

Therefore:
My freedom and liberty is not based on Oil.

Yes, our planes and tanks are powered by oil, and supposedly the USA "protects" our freedoms and liberties, but ...... my freedom and liberty is not based on oil.

I don't see the word "eliminated" in my previous post.

There's a presumption of ownership and many assumptions in the article that go beyond Natural Law and into the realms of "If I can take it, it's mine".

I challenge those assumptions from the right not the left.

Hey Pizza Delivery Boy!| 5.5.10 @ 2:48PM

"I challenge those assumptions from the right not the left. "

Another half-witted moby troll. Natural Law says you end up this stupid when you smoke pot before homeroom.

Anthony| 5.5.10 @ 3:14PM

Whoa, looks like the Unibomber has spawned a few acolyes along the way. Quick, call the FBI to check out GB's cabin in the Smokies .
GB, you're way over the top and your disjointed jibberish is adolescent nonsense. Our use of oil is depriving future generations?, well yeah, but so did generations before us, that helped us get to where we are today. Duh!!! And isn't technology the salvation of mankind, with "clean" energy? Just how do you think that will happen, eh?
Whether you wish to acknowledge it or not, your happiness is tied to our $15T economy. And we as Americans live our lives as we see fit, which usually means within our means, using just enough resources to have an enjoyable, but far from conspicious lifestyle, unless your an elitist leftist like Obama, Pelosi or Algore.
So spare us your lectures GB, and get a life.
P.S. Make sure your cabin is ventilated. We don't want anybody to find your body next year, having died from smoke inhalation.

Pingback| 5.5.10 @ 1:35PM

The American Spectator : Keep the Lights On capital university links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…booming American economy. If America was the world’s number one oil producer, just think what that would mean in terms of higher GDP, national income, … Read the original here: The American Spectator : Keep the Lights On By admin | category: AMERICAN | tags: america, back-the-geriatric, energy-industry, frank-sinatra, gdp, national-income, oil-producer, runner-may, tackled-some | American Idol's Casey…

Pingback| 5.5.10 @ 2:11PM

adult education training evaluations – Olivia Sawicki | Educational Oklahoma links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…utilize the faculties of the university, studying to the other graduating of the … Read the rest here: adult education training evaluations – Olivia Sawicki Related Blogs on The The American Spectator : Keep the Lights On Hot Air » Quotes of the day Microsoft Kin Phone Review | Katherine Boehret | The Mossberg … Related Posts Superintendent Showcases Adult Ed's Value on TV « Adult Education ……

Drew| 5.5.10 @ 3:05PM

Quote: If America was the world's number one oil producer, just think what that would mean in terms of higher GDP, national income, and high paying jobs.

That simply cannot happen. For a very good reason. Namely the United States doesn't have the oil reserves.

According to the CIA World factbook, the United States has 22.4 billion barrels of proven reserves: #14 in the world, after Angola. The #1 and #2 countries, respectively are Saudi Arabia with 262 billion and Canada with 179 billion barrels respectively.

No amount of wishful thinking; or reckless, dangerous and/or expensive drilling is going to change that fact. sarah Palin can chant to her heart's content about how, where, and why we need to drill - but it simply isn't going to change geology.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2178rank.html

gb in TN| 5.5.10 @ 3:23PM

Just back from Delivery:

No troll here. Had to look it up.

Mr. Ferrarra takes an isolated period of history (one in which we live) and makes the assumption that all is justified to protect a way of living.

Slavery made certain Southerners prosperous but did not survive.

World War II had need for resources as the some of the primary causes for German and Japan conquests.

Ferrarra boils it down to:

"No we can't, without Oil"

Not a sustainable argument.

Ken (Old Texican)| 5.5.10 @ 3:51PM

gb,

Guys like you make me laugh. Thanks for reminding me how stupid and ignorant many Americans truly are.
PS: Turn off your computer, you coal wasting ogre!
heh.

Nick| 5.5.10 @ 4:25PM

GB in TN,

"My freedom and liberty is [sic] not based on oil."

This is the same as saying, "Is [sic] our children learning?"

How does it feel to know that you have the rhetorical skills of G. W. Bush, GB?

jrjr| 5.5.10 @ 5:13PM

Obama had no intention of permitting oil drilling. He will say anything to get one more stooge voter into him camp of marxist's followers. then his follow-up routine is dancing with the stars. Give BP some TARP money to help with the damages - it is too big to fail. Until Florida and some other knuckle-dragging states that have oil near the shore are forced to permit drilling we will forever be beholden to the towel heads. Turbines and fuel cell won't do it. Nuke power will do it --- just look at France.

Mark S.| 5.5.10 @ 5:22PM

I noted that two words were visibly absent in this article: "peak" and "oil." I realize that the author is probably a "cornucopian" who believes that global oil reserves are essentially infinite and that onward and upward economic expansion is mankind's manifest destiny and forgone conclusion. But what if you are wrong? What if we are living at some point along the continuum of a "transient industrial pulse" fueled by cheap, abundant hydrocarbons ... and the seemingly endless supply either plateaus or begins a dramatic, terminal decline? Saying that "if oil didn't exist, we would have to invent it..." is like saying "if we had some eggs we could have ham and eggs, if we had some ham..." I agree that alternative energy sources are as yet extremely inefficient and, ironically, heavily dependent on an oil-based manufacturing and distribution infrastructure for deployment. That said, it is entirely possible, not certain but possible, that the days of our fat, happy and ultimately unsustainable civilization are numbered. Ten years? 25? 100? What then...?

Nick| 5.5.10 @ 5:38PM

Mark S.,

Ever heard of "oil shale?"
How about synthetic oil distillate extracted from coal?

Question: "How much TOTAL oil is there in the world?"
Answer: "Unknown. It hasn't all been discovered, YET!"

Mark S.| 5.5.10 @ 5:43PM

Oh, sure. Back in the 1970s when we thought it might actually be viable without using more energy to crush and cook it than we could get out of it. Not to be confused with Alberta's tar sands, which although challenging technically are several orders of magnitude easier to exploit than oil shale.

Nick| 5.5.10 @ 5:54PM

Mark S.,

So, you admit the notion "peak oil" is a fallacy?

Nick| 5.5.10 @ 5:55PM

That should be: the notion OF "peak oil" is a fallacy?

Mark S.| 5.5.10 @ 5:31PM

Welllll ... allow me to rephrase that. "Oil" is mentioned a plethora of times. It is "peak" that is noticeably absent.

Ken (Old Texican)| 5.5.10 @ 6:03PM

Mark S.,

Duh, the reason the word "peak" was not mentioned, is that Mr. Ferrara did his homework.

Now, I am not going to bore you with too much truth, and not too many facts.....until you are grown up. You will understand a little more when you are older....maybe.
1. We are ALL in the oil/gas business...suppliers or customers.
2. You and your own grandchildren cannot survive, literally cannot survive, without plentiful oil/gas/coal.
3. You children hate nuclear energy almost as bad as you hate oil/gas/coal. Perhaps better said, you children FEAR nuclear as much as oil/gas/coal because you do not understand it.
4. You children are very close to becoming the sprite food from the HG Wells Time Machine novel.
.....you know...where the guys labor underground, and eat the sprites.

(somebody remind me of the names of those folks)

5. There are 500 years worth of oil/gas/coal under American ground at present consumption levels...AND PRESENT EXTRACTION EXPERTISE....cheap.
6. Your veggies were fertilized with oil/gas....or your mommie could not afford them .
7. America is blessed with 10,000 years worth of uranium reserves...and the know-how right now with breeder reactors to extend that for another 50,000 years.
8. Sometime in the next three hundred years or so, we should be thinking about reserving gas and oil for fertilizer and plastics....instead of burning it.

Now, go tip toe through the tulips. We grown-ups gotta' get back to work.

Pingback| 5.5.10 @ 6:31PM

An Introduction To Foreign Exchange Market | Forex Trading Finance Wisdom links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…But in a world of many national currencies, the foreign exchange market plays the … Read more from the original source: An Introduction To Foreign Exchange Market Related Blogs on The The American Spectator : Keep the Lights On Hot Air » Obamateurism of the Day Hot Air » The Ed Morrissey Show: Jazz Shaw, John Samples, Aaron Klein Related Posts An Introduction To Foreign Exchange Market | myfapturboforex.com Why…

Nate| 5.5.10 @ 6:40PM

The fact is that the oil companies have repeatedly claimed these deep sea drills are safe while at the same time they resisted regulations that would have made it less likely for a disaster like this to take place.

Granted we need to drill for oil, but we need to stop worshiping the sacred right of oil companies to make record profits every year. When they screw up, we ALL pay for it. When they do well, we ALL pay for it.

It's kind of like the geniuses on Wall St. conservative so revere. When the profits come, they're Ayn Rand free-marketers. But when the risk doesn't pay off, and their profits are endangered, they one and all transmute into Karl Marx.

There's something here I'm missing, and perhaps one of you can explain it to me. But.

Something's just not adding up.

Ken (Old Texican)| 5.5.10 @ 7:08PM

Hi Nate.

Maybe I can help.
Do you drive a car?
Ever had an accident?

Well...lots of folks have...AND WE ALL PAY FOR IT.

One way streets, guard-rails, bright lane markers, red-lights, stop signs, etc etc. etc.
Does that clear it up for you?

Do you make a "profit" from going to work? Or are you on welfare?
...Uh...no profit motive no work...except slavery, or welfare slavery.........nothing gets done. You starve in the dark.
Does that clear it up for you?

Nate| 5.5.10 @ 11:56PM

Not really, Ken.

When BP makes profits, those profits are held to be sacrosanct. They pull something out of the ground they didn't make, and if all goes well, they make huge amounts of money.

If all does NOT go well, they make huge amounts of money and society spreads around the costs of their mistakes.

The president is claiming that BP will pay for this operation, but that's crazy. Will BP pay for the damage to the local communities, the unemployment, the damage to families and livelihoods? I doubt it.

Like I said, I don't have a brilliant solution, but something just doesn't add up -- it's obviously a tragedy of the commons. Call me a Marxist. I don't care.

Ken (Old Texican)| 5.6.10 @ 9:58AM

Nah, Nate.
You aren't smart enough to be a "Marxist".
You sir, are another of their "useful idiots".

Tim*| 5.5.10 @ 7:23PM

Check out our Marcellus Shale Fields. 575 miles , up to 900 feet thick acessed through fracturing & horizontal drilling of approximately 50 trillion recoverable cubic feet of natural gas.

Pingback| 5.5.10 @ 8:33PM

Xanax is the Most Popular Benzodiazepine in the US | Rx Drugs Blog links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…this article: Xanax is the Most Popular Benzodiazepine in the US Rx Drug Related Links Hungarian passports; or, dumbest Stratfor article ever | afoe | A Fistful of Euros | European Opinion The American Spectator : Keep the Lights On Creative Writing Graduate Wins Keene Award for Literature | The University of Texas at Austin Yglesias Award Nominee – E.D. Kain – American Times – True/Slant Xanax is the…

importerlist| 5.5.10 @ 10:55PM

I think it really is, unless you think we can dial back to an 18th century economy without serious political repercussions. Thanks.

Pingback| 5.6.10 @ 2:50AM

Automobile: 2011 Mercedes M-Class Grand Edition Unveiled | Grille Coachwork Design links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…enhanced by a chrome clasp with integrated daytime driving lights … Go here to see the original: Automobile: 2011 Mercedes M-Class Grand Edition Unveiled Related Blogs on Lights The American Spectator : Keep the Lights On Bright Lights, Big City (Mexico City) « Kiva Stories from the Field LED Holiday Lights that You Can Install | Your Info Connection Related Posts New Mercedes R-Class pics | The Ultimate…

Pingback| 5.6.10 @ 5:31PM

Keep the Lights On: America Still Needs Energy Development links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…power. I am not saying we should not produce renewable, alternative energy as well. By all means, go ahead, knock yourself out. Neither government nor anyone else should stand in your way. Read more at American Spectator Domestic Drilling: Why We Can Still Believe If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed! Posted in Big Government, Democrats, Economy, Energy, Environmentalism & Global…

Pingback| 5.7.10 @ 2:53PM

Travel Photo Friday : Hong Kong Lights | My Melange | Hong Kong Traveling links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Read the original here: Travel Photo Friday : Hong Kong Lights | My Melange Related Blogs on Lights BronxBanterBlog.com – Thursday Night Lights Caution Lights Flashing in Europe | RedState The American Spectator : Keep the Lights On Related posts: Travel Photo Friday : Hong Kong Lights | My Melange Bright lights, big Cityscape – Hong Kong, China Travel Blog Hong Kong Weather-Forecast Friday 19/02/2010 Bright…

Stainless Steel Necklaces| 5.8.10 @ 2:41AM

http://www.csteeljewelry.com/ Stainless steel jewelry
http://www.csteeljewelry.com/ stainless steel necklaces

Pingback| 5.9.10 @ 9:54PM

Ribbed Knit Leg Warmers with Button Accents by CTM | Accessories Beauty Wisdom links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…in place. … Follow this link: Ribbed Knit Leg Warmers with Button Accents by CTM Related Blogs on Keep The Meet & Keep The Right Man ™ : New! Earn 70%- Thats $23.25 Per Sale! The American Spectator : Keep the Lights On Metal Shelving to Keep the Clutter Away | Good Ezines Related Posts GothBits » Blog Archive » Womens Girls Soft Knit Leg Warmers Loose … Black Ribbed Leg Warmers Black Knit Leg Warmer…

Pingback| 5.10.10 @ 3:55PM

Cooler Heads Digest 7 May 2010 | GlobalWarming.org links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…of Regulation Henry Payne, Planet Gore, 6 May 2010 A Gush to Judgment Iain Murray, Washington Examiner, 5 May 2010 EU Investigates Cap-and-Trade Fraud Leigh Phillips, EU Observer, 5 May 2010 Keep The Lights On Peter Ferrara, American Spectator, 5 May 2010 The Costs of Carbon Controls Marlo Lewis, GlobalWarming.org, 4 May 2010 Gore: From Sanctimonious to Ridiculous Victor David Hanson, PJM, 2 May 2010 News…

Pingback| 5.12.10 @ 8:06AM

The Tedious Ellen of Tenth | Chicago Daily Observer links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…do not necessarily represent those of the Chicago Daily Observer.] It's Kirk's fault she can't spell. Obviously disasterously. Who's depressed? ...a one-note song. ...when your laptop runs out of juice, let me know: Moreover, "For 265 years after the Pilgrims founded the Plymouth Colony, and for 109 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, wood was the dominant source of energy in America." Coal…

fdjsk| 7.1.10 @ 2:27AM

beijing massage
shanghai escorts