The 70s: Bad Music, Bad Hair and Bad Energy Policy (what Obama can learn from Carter) — MasterResource

A number of the Carter era policies have remained part of the US Government’s official approach to energy: restrictions on offshore oil and gas production, “catch-22” type regulation of spent nuclear fuel, reliance on overall manufacturer fuel economy standards rather than prices to encourage conservation of gasoline, and last, but not least, the ethanol tax credit.

The price that we have paid for these interventions – less domestic energy production, more price volatility, aging network infrastructure – far exceeds any of the supposed benefits of such policies. Now we have a new president who wishes to make his name by even more massive intervention in energy markets – since it worked so well the last time. We face grandiose plans that start from the assumption that markets do not work and private firms cannot be trusted to make the “right” types of investments, when, in fact, most of our “remnant” problems result from ignoring rather than following market pricnciples. If the 1970s are any guide we will live with the consequences of our follies for many years.

It is much better to choose wisely than quickly.

World Climate Report » Contrasting Ideas about Climate Change and War

Ms. Barnaby set out to write a book detailing the history of “water wars”—wars fought over water scarcity—with special interest on how climate change may impact such conflicts in the future. Since all sorts of entities, including the United Nations, the World Bank, and General Sullivan, have made grave prognostications about conflicts developing from global warming’s impact on water supply, Ms. Barnaby surely reckoned that a book detailing the history of the subject would be a popular read.

But then she encountered a major roadblock—the more she looked for “water wars” the more it became obvious that there just weren’t any. Instead, she found that nations with water deficits “solve their water shortages through trade and international agreements.”
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...Ms. Barnaby includes this pearl of wisdom, “There is something other than water for which shortages, or even the perceived threat of future shortages, does cause war — oil,” which is decidedly not what those in control of the Subcommittee want to hear, after all, this is precisely the type of action (perceived threat of oil shortages) which they are promoting!

Warning Signs: Sailing on the USS Obama

He offered a host of extremely bad ideas in order to get to the next shore. The Democrat Congress has set its face against any growth in the actual energy sources upon which the nation depends for electricity and for transportation.

There will be no exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas off the nearly 85% of the continental shelf where huge amounts are believed to exist. There will be no drilling in ANWR. There will be no new leases in states known to be sitting atop huge untapped reserves. As for the coal which provides just over 50% of all our electricity, the entire industry has been targeted for destruction by the President.

The notion that “clean” or “renewable” energy (solar and wind) will ever provide more than the 1% of electricity it presently does is a pipedream. That, however, is Obama’s only “solution.”

Imposing a "cap-and-trade" program of emissions credits on all energy use would chase major industries from the nation while doing nothing to end a global warming that is not happening.