STILL NO U.S. ENERGY POLICY!
WASHINGTON IS STILL BROKEN
Much has happened in the energy arena since my last post. Unfortunately, there still is no clearly defined American energy policy. Washington is broken in so many ways and energy is no exception. Regarding energy policy, there is much more talk than action.
With the price of oil currently in the mid $80’s per barrel, oil is down significantly from just a month ago. If not for speculators and oil & gas ETF’s, the price of oil would likely be considerably lower. This would put money in consumers’ pockets and enable them to spend more on goods that would boost the economy. The U.S. balance of payments is in the range of more than a negative $50 billion per month (imports greater than exports). Economists and politicians almost never talk about the trade imbalance, but it is probably the single greatest contributer to the U.S. budget deficit and our sluggish economy.
WHAT WE NEED TO DO
Produce more oil and gas domestically (we have the oil and gas so let’s produce it). This should be a 10 – 20 year solution.
Push solar and wind energy much more aggressively and build the solar panels and wind turbines domestically.
Push conservation much more aggressively, from building the national smart grid to conservation in the residential and business sectors.
Push building of the latest generation nuclear energy.
Place greater effort on clean coal…. we have huge amounts of coal.
Use natural gas to power trucks, buses and some cars.
Get people to buy energy efficient cars that are appropriate for their needs. Many people driving gas guzzling SUVs do not need them.
Where natural gas is available, stop using imported oil to heat hom
These actions will keep jobs and money in the U.S. and help heal our budget and debt problems.
BOTTOM LINE – ENERGY AND THE U.S. ECONOMY WILL GET FIXED WHEN THE POLITICIANS IN WASHINGTON CARE MORE ABOUT THE U.S. AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAN THEY CARE ABOUT GETTING RE-ELECTED….DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH WAITING!!!
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