Residual Forces

There’s a great piece in the Philly Inquirer about Energy and the prospects of what America’s Energy policy will look like after the next elections. It is well worth the read. 

Last week’s energy debate in Congress gives voters concerned about gasoline prices a good idea where U.S. energy policy is headed.If Barack Obama is in the White House, Democrats win a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, and Nancy Pelosi has fewer pesky Republicans to ignore in the House, this will be energy rule No. 1:

Forget more drilling. Offshore. Alaska. Doesn’t matter.

Then step two, let slip by an unidentified Democratic aide recently in The Hill newspaper: “Right now, our strategy on gas prices is, ‘Drive small cars and wait for the wind.’ ”

In other words, suck it up, gas-guzzlers. Break out the Carter-era sweaters and hair shirts, turn down the thermostats this winter, and let the drill bits rust. Policies of the 1970s are good enough for the 21st century.

Let’s not forget the other dire need for fringe leftist energy policy:

A scientific break through that makes the wheel look like child’s play so that we can some how transfer goods to the store front (or across the country) with out a drop of oil. Currently trucks burn diesel to transfer goods. No oil means no diesel so some mystical energy will need to be created. All the talk of hybrids and plug in electrics have been for micro cars, not heavy freight trucks. This is the most crucial portion of our nation’s energy use based on our economy, but the one that is most often not talked about. 

There’s even a growing acceptance of nuclear power, though it’s grudging in some circles. As the mostly self-anointed President Obama evolves on this one - expect an “As I’ve said consistently” head fake - look for subsidies to shrink, plants to become unaffordable, and the release of The China Syndrome - 30th Anniversary Edition, with an intro by “An Inconvenient Truth” scare-meister Al Gore.

Necessary as all those energy sources are, though, the reality is we’ll need oil for decades, and the less we get from unstable regimes the better.

And that’s where the consensus ends. You see the differences from the presidential campaign to the local races, including Pennsylvania’s Seventh District, with Democratic freshman Rep. Joe Sestak against Republican Craig Williams.

This is where I’ll point out how energy policy matters on an even more local level. Here In Minnesota, the State Legislature has banned Nuclear Energy Plants from being built. We have 2 currently, but any ideas for new ones are off the table. It is crucial to know what the energy policy is for every candidate this election, even for those at the State House level. 

You could wind up voting for someone who believes high taxes and out of control spending on junk science and unproven technology is to cure for the most crucial problem facing Americans and our economy. We do still need reliable and cheap oil. 

By and large, you’ll only see rhetoric and wishful thinking from liberals on this issue. 

Vote wisely. If you make the wrong choice on th ballot, it could trickle all the way down to forcing you to no longer enjoy the freedom and ability to live your life as you see fit. Heck, that big hunk of metal you currently call your car, could just be a 3,000 paper weight if the liberals have their way. 

Anyways, go read the whole piece : Back Channels: On energy, Democrats in office means a return to the 1970s.