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TechnoratiDon't Heed Promises of Easy Fuel Solution
Sometimes Sen. Phil Gramm is not all that wrong about American protests over high pump prices to sustain their behemoth autos as they soak up the oil reserves of the world. Ever since President Jimmy Carter, warnings have been issued about the risks of dependence on foreign oil.
Conservation, we were told, was the only solution. Actually there were other solutions, such as legislating stern mpg requirements, as European countries did, imposing heavy taxes on gas. In fact, the four and a half dollars a gallon Americans must now pay for gas is less than Europeans have been paying for 30 years.
However, Americans were convinced that they had the right to cheap gasoline and that no power in the world should take that right away from us. Now that the right has been sopped up, it ought to be clear that gasoline is an expensive commodity. Yet Americans continued to purchase it at a discount provided by their government.
Environmentalists warned every year that disaster was waiting just around the corner, but Big Auto insisted that Americans wanted big cars and small trucks and especially SUVs, gas-consuming monsters that were rarely used either for sports or utility purposes, but mostly to reinforce the masculinity of drivers of either gender.
And Big Oil lobbied fiercely against any restraints. If Americans wanted power and size in their cars and were unwilling to pay, then it was the duty of the federal government to provide such symbols of the county's ability to disregard the laws of nature and of economics.
So now the SUVs and the "light" trucks are rotting on the car dealers parking lots, and the American auto companies are racing to see who can reach bankruptcy first.
There must be an easy way out. It is unpatriotic to concede that Americans cannot have what they want, especially since the high price of gasoline is hard on truckers, cab drivers, commuters, vacationers, road warriors, airlines and those who earn their livings servicing such industries. It's not fair, they complain to the media vultures who corner them at gasoline stations for comments. I can't remember a single such whiner suggesting that it was all our own fault.
From Day One, I hated SUVs. If you had the misfortune to park between two of them (say, Lincoln Navigators) you risked your life when you tried to pull out of your parking spot, particularly in a parking garage. In the words of Gilbert and Sullivan, they'll never be missed, oh, they never will be missed.
Politicians rush into the gap with soothing solutions. We must become free of the power of foreign oil. We must drill offshore or in the wilderness or in Alaska and we must do it tomorrow because the people are suffering. No one yet has suggested that we might invade Saudi Arabia and steal their oil. After all, they are our real enemies.
It is unfortunate that none of these solutions are available, that our economy must adjust to high fuel charges and admit that the real solutions -- conservation and alternative energy -- will not be on line for many years. Political campaigns will promise quick and easy solutions because the politicians know that the public is not mature enough to accept the harsh truth that chickens have come home to roost -- and they are money-hungry chickens.
The energy crisis, caused by immature consumers, irresponsible CEOs and dishonest political leaders, is not going to disappear before the election. The candidate who promises an easy solution -- business as usual -- is the one for whom not to vote.
Andrew Greeley is a priest in good standing of the Archdiocese of Chicago. for 52 years, a columnist for 40 years, a sociologist for 45 years, a novelist for 28 years, distinguished lecturer at the University of Arizona for 28 , research associate at National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago for 46 years.
© Copyright 2008 Digital Chicago, Inc.
18 Comments so far
Show AllI wrote something on this subject earlier this year;
http://wagelaborer.blogspot.com/2008/04/american-entitilements.html
"Capitalists see algae to fuel as an opportunity."
Is that why they currently are growing so much of that Algae in the Gulf [thanks to 'ethanol-madness']?
Wow, the Repuks are set to raise the bar yet again on institutional corruption:
McCain Defends 'Enron Loophole'
My impression from articles by Pam Martens on Counterpunch, among others, is that at least $1 if not two of the current $4 it takes to buy a gallon of gas are imposed because of unregulated oil futures trading via the "London" or "Enron loophole". There is a measure before the Senate, S. 3268, that would close this loophole. Hopefully w/o opening a new one.
And in case there are any future difficulties identifying who should follow or get out of the way, let's remember Reagan's first ceremonial act of office -- removing Jimmy Carter's solar panels from the roof of the White House.
ClassAct(6:31) When it comes to hemp I'm one of you. If you do some research on algae to biofuel and have an open mind you'll become one of me. Capitalists see algae to fuel as an opportunity.
Here is a path to a solution: free public transit.
.
http://freepublictransit.org
.
physicscitizen:
For primary resources regarding cannabis, begin with the Drug Reporter on AlterNet. It is widely reported that cannabis is the most efficient producer of biomass on dry land. Cannabis is also imbued with a resin that is several steps closer to being a complex carbohydrate than sugars or starches. The question is one of developing a processing infrastructure appropriate to the situation.
zaz:
Shall we flood America's lawns to produe algae paddies? What about the availability of water? Perhaps we could harvest algae from the sea before it chokes off the oxygen, producing those infamous dead zones produced by runoff of fertilizers.
Obviously, it is up to the people to determine the course of our world's future. The US government and big business have been joined at the hip for a century or more. We have become slaves to Big Energy (in actuality, tiny energy and horribly polluting). It's choking us to death in more ways than one. But, it doesn't have to be this way. An infinite, free, and completely non-polluting source of energy is what the Orion Project is now developing. Check it out.
http://www.theorionproject.org/en/
Class Act (2:17) I agree. Hemp can replace oil to some extent. Algae to biofuels may be even more promising. Much more energy per acre.
Hey ClassAct...
Check out this video about using America's lawns to help get us out of this mess.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv_WVUDjmIc
At the very least, we should be paying for our wars in Iraq and Iran and for protecting the Colombian pipeline and all the other military activities related to OIL with a gas tax.
Then, in at least one small way the price of gas would start to reflect what we are really paying to get it.
Very very nice article. Now, let's all shut up and get those alternative renewables pumping and work on conservation, moderate usage, and fuel efficient upgrades to our existing technological infrastructure instead of talking doom and gloom all the time !
By the way AdeleTheCzech, if the politicians would get rid of the ban on cannabis, hemp for plastics would be more common and even better than starch based plastics. Also, don't give up on solar technology as it's getting major improvements and just like computers, they'll be more affordable and improved. Let's keep the independent winning streak running.
Andrew Greeley has explained the problem well. But saying the solutions are way in the future shows that he hasn't been following the money. Capital is pouring into alternative energy (just one example: T. Boone Pickens is about to sink over a billion bucks into the world's largest wind farm, in Texas).
Biofuels from switchgrass etc. are a fine interim solution until we run everything (except planes) on electricity produced with solar, wind, geothermal and tidal power. And "plastics" are already being made with starches, etc. -- materials engineering is an exciting field, also attracting venture capital.
I'm a democratic socialist, but on this subject I notice that venture capitalists respond more quickly than government in an emergency, when they know money is to be made. (The trick is to keep them from hogging it all!)
I need to research this ClassAct but my initial reaction is incredulous. Hemp cannot possibly ferment more easily than wheats and grains which contain high levels of starches which can convert easily into sugars and thus help fermentation.
But please re-supply your references and I'll have a look. After all, it is important to keep an open mind, just not so far open that one's brain falls out.
Furthermore, should we be taking all this easily accessable land and growing weed or should we be growing food on it? I am pretty sure that we will need most of the land we already have for growing food, and as we take that land out of food production the price of food increases. Many are already struggling because of the planting of rape-seed...which is a highly oily seed that is easily converted into biodiesel (already in extensive use here in Europe) instead of food crops.
I am sure such plantings will take place (maybe not hemp, perhaps rape-seed or something else that can be easily converted into diesel) but these mental games are never as easy as they first seem.
I highly recommend Bob Park on these kinds of issues
http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/
There will never be a solution to energy independence until American homeowners are encouraged to replace their lawns with cannabis, the most efficient source of greenery for biofuel, as well as other products. That is the one and only easy fuel solution.
Honestly, as tough as it is, I hope the gas prices do not come down. Already we are seeing things start to pop with photovolteic cells, solar water heating, efficient heat pump, and wind power. We have to do it sooner or later; we might as well get on with it.
Even a great article like this starts with the "pump prices" and neglects to mention, fertilizers, plastics, the movement of freight, etc. We could ride bicycles and still consume a vast amount of oil. There is such a long way to go to reach a sustainable solution.
This is one of the best columns on the energy situation that Common Dreams has posted. Well done, Mr. Greeley!