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Subscribe to RSSSenate Republicans blamed the defeat of a measure that would have allowed Congress to greenlight cross-border drilling without presidential approval on President Obama’s calling Senate Democrats urging them not to vote for it.
The amendment, which was defeated by a 56-42 vote, was sponsored by Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) and would have given Congress the authority to approve construction of a portion of the Keystone pipeline project that passes through Canada.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suggested the amendment was four votes shy of the 60-vote threshold because of President Obama’s efforts to dissuade senators from voting for it.
“President Obama's personal pleas to wavering senators may have tipped the balance against this legislation," McConnell said. "When it comes to delays over Keystone, anyone looking for a culprit should now look no further than the Oval Office."
Earlier today, White House press secretary Jay Carney confirmed that President Obama personally called Senate Democrats regarding the amendment, which was tacked on to a multi-billion-dollar transportation bill that has received bipartisan support. Carney refused, however, to “get into individual names or length of conversation.”
He accused Republicans of playing politics with the issue, noting that TransCanada has not yet identified a pipeline route that would pass muster with the state of Nebraska (even though the Hoeven amendment would have still made the pipeline contingent on an environmental review of the Nebraska portion).
“The president believes that it is wrong to play politics with a pipeline project whose route has yet to be proposed, a fact that the company involved affirmed again this week, that they have not yet identified a route for this possible pipeline,” Carney said.
Thursday morning, Obama’s calls to Senate Democrats quickly became a rallying point for House Republicans seeking to paint Obama as doing everything he can to obstruct development of the Keystone project.
“According to reports the President of the United States is personally lobbying senators to oppose a Keystone XL pipeline amendment in the United State Senate today,” House Speaker John Boehner said in a briefing with reporters. He added, “By personally lobbying against the Keystone pipeline, it means the president of the United States is lobbying for sending North American energy to China and lobbying against American jobs."
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What a bunch of HOOEY!
Anyone want to guess how much Agent Orange has received from the lobbyists for the Keystone pipeline?
Wait for it...
From the Washington Post:
Feisty, deflection is all Teapublicans have. They have no real energy policy, or any viable solutions whether the economy, jobs, needed reforms, etc.
Finite fossil fuels, especially extracted from sands or shell, which would take more than 45 years to carry the amount of oil we will save through the historic fuel economy, seriously? We could get immediate results at no cost if these GOP/TP jagoffs would just regulate speculation on Wall Street -- simple, easy, fast.
Feisty, you mention Agent Orange (Boehner), who like other Republicans rely on Big Oil support -- Folks need to see the video of Eric Cantor reassuring speculators that he and the GOP/TP will protect them from regulation.
All you voters out there cringing when you fill your tank at the pump, write your Teapublican representatives and demand they stop their populist lies and actually do something meaningful. And while you're at it, tell them to stop with the war-mongering rhetoric too as this is being used as an excuse by speculators to drive oil prices up.
But wait!
There's MORE;
More of the crap tacked on the transportation bill again! And they wanted to do this without presidential approval?? Can the turtle McConnell and Agent of Orange get any more disgusting?? ;-)
Funny how Republicans cannot be satisfied with a portion of the pipeline being built while an alternative route is determined to avoid crossing the Ogallala Aquifer in Nebraska. Considering a large portion of Nebraska's economy is based on agriculture and the aquifer is the source of water to grow the crops, it seems like a no brainer. Build the portion of the pipeline that everyone can agree to. Use the time while that portion is being built to come up with another route that can get approved. Instead Republicans would rather write a blank check to the oil industry.
Oklahoma to Texas pipeline
Salient point ... does not matter who we sell our crap to, we still increase the volume available ... hello America, it is not yours, it is ours and as long as you are addicted we will prosper.
I don't understand how Boehner investing money in big oil is NOT INSIDER TRADING.
Is this not illegal and punishable with jail time?
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER HARPER SAID CLEARLY:
That the Keystone pipeline OIL,
WILL NOT BE USED FOR DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION IN THE UNITED STATES.
The oil will go to refineries and be exported.
Wait for it....
"Warren Buffett’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC is among U.S. and Canadian railroads that stand to benefit from the Obama administration’s decision to reject TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL oil pipeline permit."
Right you are Backhouse. Sad to say but much of our, Canadian, economic stability is now tied to dirty oil. Unfortunately those who cry about debt being foisted on our grandchildren could care less about about diminishing resources.
s, he invested $10,000 to $50,000 each in seven firms that had a stake in Canada’s oil sands, the region that produces the oil the pipeline would transport. The firms include six oil companies — BP
^ So Weeper of the House Boehner is really just a petty crook.
Gasp! Who knew!!!?
Warren Buffett’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC is among U.S. and Canadian railroad stand to benefit.
^ Very Good. I'll support jobs in the US shipping oil within the unites states instead of exporting it overseas.
My question for you is - WHY DO YOU THINK IT'S BETTER TO BUILD AN EXPORT PIPELINE INSTEAD????
Oil production is way, way way up under President Obama.
The U.S is exporting oil now.
As we use 20% of the world's oil, but only produce 2% of that oil:
Domestically produced oil should stay right here in this country, to be used by ourselves.
John Boehner is a TERRIBLE, terrrible bare-faced liar.
Why even bother with anything Boehner or McConnell say?
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway operates a small amount of track in Canada, including an approximate 30 mile section that runs from the U.S.-Canada border to Vancouver, a yard in Winnipeg, and approximately 70 miles of joint track with the Canadian National Railway, which runs south to the U.S. border.
When was the last time you saw a gas shortage at your local gas station? Maybe you missed the news about the US exporting gas in 2011.
Those damn liberals over at Fox News with their article, "U.S. on Pace to Become Net Fuel Exporter Despite High Gasoline Prices at Home"
Now run along and go find another conspiracy.
This is classic playbook, but sad that this MO of Boehner's depends on low-information voters in order to work. Oil, no matter how much, or where it is drilled, is sold in the global market place. Barrels of oil drilled in the US, or in Canada and piped through the US, are not marked "For US Consumption Only." That is why, as posted above by Backhouse, under President Obama the US has been "drill, baby, drilling" and is now an exporter of oil.
So..."North American energy is going to China" as we speak, and the pipeline would only help countries like China access the oil from Canada. And the jobs crap? Oil extraction does not create a lot of jobs. Construction of the pipeline would not create a lot of jobs either, with a Canadian company hiring Canadians first dibs obviously.
I like what kendysdad posted below about the president being on the side of private land-owners, and the GOP on the side of government takeover.
But JFK-2112 above, who thinks he has a major scoop with guilt by association through association, LOL. Dude, if anything one could argue that the rails, which were decimated by Big Oil and tire companies earlier in US history, are cleaner means of transportation that we should reinvest in. OMG.
Doesn't the oil come from Canada? Shouldn't the Canadians decide how, when, where and who to sell their own products to?
I am surprise that after all Obama has done (or not done) to the country, there are still folks like you who still believe what he is saying:
“The fact that we are heretoday to debate raising America 's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America 's debt weakens
us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, "the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”
~ Senator Barack H. Obama,
March 2006
Our president will continue to spout whatever you want to hear, and when it doesn't happen he will either blame Bush or come up with another spin!
This is more complicated perhaps, in that oil is traded in US dollars. If enough oil-producing countries went off the dollar, it could cause the dollar to lose as much as 40% value. US interventions in the Middle East have not been so much over oil, but over oil being traded in the US dollar -- for example Iran, Iraq, etc. -- all have threatened to create their own oil bourse, and hmm...
If Teapublicans could somehow propose a plan for US-produced oil to be consumed in the US that would be of more interest, but I don't see how this could be done realistically. However, real energy savings could come immediately by stopping speculation on Wall Street and increasing refineries in the short-term, and then developing alternative solutions for the long-term. And this is where the GOP/TP is completely dishonest with the American people.
What the US does have a lot of is natural gas. And I believe CNG is produced for domestic consumption and not tied to the global market in the same way as oil. Once again, if Teapublicans were sincere about energy independence, they would be pursuing options like this (without fracking and polluting aquifers, that is).
But it's so much better for the GOP/TP to keep the economy tanked and blame President Obama. So this the idiocy we are forced to live with.
Sam,
You might want to think about sticking to being seldom seen - you're an nitwit!
Given the circumstances of today & our current economic situation - comments made 6 years ago is a lifetime!
You right wingers get off living in the past!
I prefer to live for today & the FUTURE!
carrot top, you live to post mostly irrelevant FR posts every day (proof of no other life).... your biased opinions have no credibility outside this blog, and I suspect not much inside, lol! But I do enjoy your misguided efforts, however meaningless they are.... and use them frequently to make points elsewhere, tyvm! Sure glad I'm not on your side, what a horrible world that would be!
Strange Marky - my fan club says otherwise!
Please provide your credentials which make you an expert on credibility. You have NO idea who I am and what impact I have little buddy!
PS: When someone takes the time to respond posing as the credibility police, in actuality it means you & your minions are scared @!$%#less of ME & MY message!
So carry on... pretty please?
I'm in the mood to take you & your asinine comments apart limb by limb, sweetheart!
Canadian Prime Minister Harper DID SAY who "how, when, where and who" he wants to sell (Canadian) products to.
Prime Minister Harper has said he wants Canada to be the #1 exporter of oil to China.
(And that is the purpose of the Keystone Pipeline.)
[Doesn't the oil come from Canada? Shouldn't the Canadians decide how, when, where and who to sell their own products to?]
Good question, phine...the Republicans are making a mountain out of a mole hill. President Obama is against the CURRENT ROUTE of the pipeline as designed...and NOT against the pipeline itself, as Republicans have their lemmings lulled into believing. In any event, the oil produced from this pipeline will be sold on the global market...we won't see a drop unless we buy it.
A portion of the pipeline IS being constructed...the Republicans are LYING to their base.
To your point TP, thanks.
You are so well-informed on such things.
Dear Sheldon Adelson,
With regard to your recent pledge of 100 MILLION DOLLARS to assist the Republican Party in winning back the White House and ending the cratering effects of Obama's governance on the US citizenry and the national economy, I would like to make a suggestion on how you could help most.
There are SIX different campaign commercials from 2008 in which Obama appears on screen railing then President Bush, John McCain, and Repulicans for high gas prices. Please acquire these commercials and create a loop TV ad and play them is swing states NONSTOP or whatever your 100 MIL will get you.
The media certainly won't report or point out how much of a hipocritical double speaker this failure in the White House is but you can!
Today, the President shot himself in the foot. He personally called over a dozen democrats and asked them to vote against the keystone pipeline. The pipeline that has the approval of about 70% of Americans. Now I and maybe most Americans understand that the pipeline may not lead to lower prices in the short term but it does show Americans that the President's "all of the above" strategy is nothing but more LIES.
Americans don't appreciate LYING Presidents. Remember Bill Clinton? He was a very successful President. But boy oh boy did his approval ratings go down the drain when he was proven to be a LIAR.
It's time for this LIAR to go and fade away into the ash heap of failed Presidents.
Thank you for all due consideration to my suggestion.
Rob in MA
Post subscript
Gas prices in swing states just so happen to be the highest in the nation in most cases.
sorry old gal, I don't have the time to debate your 'cut and paste rhetoric' here, as I have a life and you seem to have 24/7/365 time available to rant at First Read... I hope you get paid for your... uhh... service :)) otherwise what's the point?
Keep up the good work feisty, or whatever you go by this week, feisty, carrot top, redwig...you are providing a service, but maybe not what you think.... wink, wink.
Gas prices by state …
http://money.cnn.com/news/storysupplement/economy/gas_prices_by_state/
Funny stuff Mark
Very funny
Just as I thought... when a keyboard warrior gets handed his minuscule BALLS for dinner - he cuts & run. LMAO!
Here's an Altoid little buddy - you have a serious case of scrotum breath! Better luck next time junior!
Get back to me when you are Feisty worthy... will ya?
PS: When someone takes the time to respond posing as the credibility police, in actuality it means you & your minions are scared @!$%#less of ME & MY message!
By far the funnest post to date!!!! Kind of like when you respond to my comments..............remember bright colors, don't want to race bait you know ;-)............haha
If the point were REALLY to bring Canadian oil supplies to the United States it could be done a lot more easily by sending it to refineries in places like Washington, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, or Minnesota. If you don't believe it look for yourself. http://www.energysupplylogistics.com/map/
With refineries available in the northern US why would you pump it across the entire United States through ecologically fragile areas populated by people who don't want a pipeline? The only thing Texas offers most of those other states don't is port facilities for shipment out of the US.
http://theenergycollective.com/robertrapier/74815/are-president-obama-s-policies-causing-us-oil-production-rise
Question: What do President Barack Obama and ex-President Jimmy Carter have in common?
Answer: Both presided over strong increases in domestic oil production that were a result of decisions made before they took office.
lol, Mark you've learned too how to give carrot top a virtual wedgie! Truly a funny thing!
feisty is a paid blogger.
as well as Mark Thomas.
http://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/obama-oil-and-gas-record-2-pager.pdf
President Obama’s Record on Oil and Gas Production
Since President Obama took office, total U.S. oil and natural gas production has increased. This increase, however, has happened in spite of the President, not because of him. The increase in production is occurring on private and state lands, the use of which is much harder for the President to restrict (at least in the short term). Meanwhile, production on federal lands is decreasing significantly. This decrease isn’t a result of President Obama’s policies exclusively, but it is the result of decades and policies that have systematically reduced energy production on federal lands.
Wow feisty, thats great propaganda reporting you do, but where are the numbers form the democrats on their oil investments? Little one sided arent you. Im not a campaigner for anyone like yourself, but i do know my senator Sheldon Whitehouse who preaches and preaches and preaches green energy has $15million invested in oil stocks, yep thats just 1 person i know for a fact, but im sure he's the only hypocrite on that side.
Where is the reporting on what ridiculous stipulations Obama is willing to sell away for his congressional lobbying? They seem to have left out what he promised to give them. As we all know, nothing comes for free, so all Obama had to do was sell away more pork to your loving democrats, cant wait to see what his holiness gave them.
Its really amazing how blindly one sided you are, just shows that youre a pathetic little sheep.
How to Get 76 MPG
December 12, 2007 By Clayton 28 Comments
Welcome Googler!
If you find this page useful, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for
updates on this topic.
We don’t need new technology
to save us, just a little ingenuity.
After a few minor tweaks, Ernie Rogers can get up to 76 mpg in his 2003 VW diesel
Beetle:
He drove 1375 miles…[on] just 18 gallons of fuel– 1200 miles of which was
accomplished on just one tankfull (15.5 gallons). His trip fuel economy was 76
miles per gallon. Rogers’ car included several small refinements that added up
to the exceptional mileage: a drag reducing device he designed and built
himself (pictures [here]),
lower-rolling-resistance tires, low-friction engine oil, and use of a B5
biodiesel blend fuel to increase efficiency and improve emissions.
That’s right, it’s a non-hybrid that puts the Prius to shame. Granted, this test was
at 55 mph, but the VW still gets between 57-65 mpg at normal freeway speeds.
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What’s Ernie’s great innovation? His VW might not win a beauty pageant, but it gets
the job done, and it’s based on a simple concept: reducing drag.
As explained on Ernie’s website,
automobile drag occurs mostly at the rear, where the course of smooth-flowing
air is disrupted. Think about an airplane wing, which reduces air resistance by
by guiding it along the wing’s surface to a thin edge. Although the VW beetle
might seem somewhat aerodynamic to the untrained eye, drag is produced as air
follows the curve of the frame. To solve this problem and create smoother air
flow, Ernie installed a homemade spoiler, improving fuel economy by 5-8%.
Add low-resistance tires, low-friction engine oil, and a lubricious fuel additive
(biodiesel), and you’ve got major increases in gas mileage.
Ifa back-yard mechanic can do this, imagine what auto-manufacturing’s best and
brightest (backed by $$$) could do.
Green Technology is an economic disaster
Goodnight Sunshine
Germany is cutting solar-power subsidies because they are expensive and
inefficient
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/project_syndicate/2012/02/why_germany_is_phasing_out_its_solar_power_subsidies_.html
Spain's Green Disaster a Lesson for America
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/finance/2011/November/Spains-Green-Disaster-a-Lesson-for-America/
Spain's Green Disaster a Lesson for America
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/finance/2011/November/Spains-Green-Disaster-a-Lesson-for-America/
BARCELONA, Spain -- It was just last year that President Obama was touring
Solyndra headquarters and telling us green technology was the future:
"The future is here. We are poised to transform the ways we power our
homes and our cars and our businesses," Obama said.
The president said America had better get on board or else fall behind the
rest of the world in the growth of renewable or "green" technology.
Spain's Colossal Failure
One the nations he held up as an example for America's green technology
effort was Spain.
However, President Obama may like Spain's green technology program, but the Spanish -- not so much. One study has declared it a colossal failure.
The Spanish recently threw out their socialist government over their
terrible economy and a 22 percent unemployment rate.
Green technology was supposed to be Spain's path to more jobs and a cleaner
more prosperous future. It wasn't.
"Politicians told us some years ago that they found a new way of
investing or doing public investing in a new sector, in the renewable energies,
that would create a sort of new economy with new jobs, green jobs, so called
green jobs," Dr. Gabriel Calzada Álvarez, with King Juan Carlos University
in Madrid, said.
But what the Spanish got was a big helping of a Solyndra style business
debacle: a lot of taxpayer money down the drain and jobs that cost a fortune to
create.
A Job Killer
Calzada, an economist, studied Spain's green technology program and found that each
green job created in Spain cost Spanish taxpayers $770,000. Each Wind Industry
job cost $1.3 million to create.
"President Zapatero, for example, when he came in to power, said he
knew, 'he knew' that solar energy was the future," Calzada said. "He
'knew' this, so he put all the public money and investment into this
model."
But Calzada's study found that for every four jobs created by Spain's
expensive green technology program, nine jobs were lost.
Electricity generated was so expensive that each "green" megawatt
installed in the power grid destroyed five jobs elsewhere in the economy by
raising business costs.
Unsafe Conditions
Marta Sabina lives on the outskirts of Barcelona in one of Spain's new
green technology apartment buildings.
It has been a nightmare for this mother of three young children. Her toilet
uses recycled water with chemicals in it.
She said it's unsafe for her children and often looks no different from
toilet water that hasn't been flushed.
"A lot of times I am coming to the bathroom and I am pushing all the
time because the water is dirty and I don't know if it's the kids because they
have not pushed or if because it's the water," Sabina said.
"Sometimes it smells very bad and it's very dirty and it's not for
kids."
Sabina has also had to heat her family's hot water on the stove because the
building's solar water heater didn't work for three years.
Breaking the Bank
Spain's green technology dream was costing the nation more than $15 billion
a year before the government had to slash it because it had failed and Spain
was going broke.
The Obama Administration's 2007 stimulus package included $80 billion for
green jobs.
"Green energy is not ready for prime time," Seton Motley,
president of Less
Government, said. "It's not ready for private sector
production."
"Everything that requires government money means there's no market for
it," he explained. "Because if there was a market for it, there'd be
plenty of private capital to invest in it and people saying, 'Let's go
forward.' "
The market didn't like General Motors, which faced bankruptcy. Then
Washington came to the rescue. Uncle Sam bought 500-million shares of General
Motors, which have since lost $15 billion in value.
"I can't think of, off the top of my head, a bigger loser than GM, as
far as most money in one place that's going down the tubes," Motley said.
Environmental Dream Buster
The Spanish could have taught the Americans a thing or two about government
money down the tubes.
Spain spent billions on an environmental dream that helped make their
economy worse and added to the nation's already crushing government debt.
And now Spain's future is looking more like what Greece is facing.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/08/10613875-keystone-pipeline-measure-fails-gop-blames-obama?threadId=3365072&commentId=63205028#c63205028
4. Through your pension funds, you're most likely a part of big oil!
Crude oil and natural gas producers in the USA employ nine million people. Additional millions of shareholders are part of what is called "big oil," part of its profits for sure. Close to half the US population holds stock in oil and natural gas companies. This happens because of the 145 million retirement accounts that are invested in crude oil and gas corporations. Through your pension funds, you're most likely a part of big oil!
"The average value of these pension accounts is less than $55,000. 48.6 million American families hold IRAs that are invested in oil and natural gas companies—80 percent of these IRA holders earn $70,000 or less. All in all, corporate management owns 2.8 percent of oil companies; middle class Americans largely own the rest."
. Crude Oil and the Biggest Trading Houses
Two of the biggest trading houses, "Vitol and Trafigura, sold a combined 8.1 million barrels a day of oil last year. That's equal to the combined oil exports of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela."
"Vitol's sales of $195 billion in 2010 were twice those at Apple Inc. As well as the 200 tankers it has at sea, Vitol owns storage tanks on five continents.
In recent months, for instance, Vitol's crude oil trading business served partners like the Libyan rebels (supplying them with $1 billion in fuel), the US government, the Syrian regime, at the same time. This tells us that trading and investing in oil is transparent to political colors.
So fesity, when you do more than just post propaganda (i know propaganda works though, just ask hitler), you can look at both sides. this is a short list i found in less than 30seconds, one of those people is a republican, he's the one that made 10s of thousands of dollars; aka peanuts comapred to what the democrats did. Yes he was still a scumbag, but look at what hypocrites you back, that makes you as filthy as them.
I know you probably dont understand anymore than just rhetoric, but when these @!$%#s sold these stocks, they werent just breaking everyone elses law to save themselves money, they were essentially stealing form whomever bought the stocks from them. thats who the market works, you dont make money without someone else lossing money.
WHERE IS YOUR RETIREMENT PLAN INVESTED??????
half of America owns investments directly related to the energy and oil & gas industries.
by hurting big oil you are hurting your own retirement plan.
wake up America!
MIDDLE CLASS AMERICA IS BIG OIL!!!!!!!
OIL COMPANIES like BP are major manufacturers/providers of green technology such as solar panels.
you see big oil could care less about oil. big oil likes money not oil. so that oil company that you are trying to hurt by moving to green technology is the provider of the green technology.
http://www.ngoilgas.com/article/Investing-in-Infrastructure/
The proposed Keystone Gulf Coast Expansion Project (Keystone XL) is complementary to the Keystone Pipeline and would potentially serve existing refineries and markets in the US Gulf Coast in Texas. The proposed project will be approximately 1980-mile 36-ince crude oil pipeline that would begin at Hardisty, Alberta and extend southeast through Saskatchewan, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. It would incorporate a portion of the Keystone Pipeline to be constructed through Kansas to Cushing, Oklahoma, before continuing through Oklahoma to a delivery point near existing terminals in Nederland, Texas to serve the Post Arthur, Texas marketplace. A 50-mile pipeline to the Houston, Texas marketplace has also been proposed.
The expansion is expected to cost approximately $7 billion. When completed, the expansion will increase the commercial design of the Keystone Pipeline system from 590,000 barrels per day to around 1.1 million barrels per day, and result in a total capital investment of approximately $12.2 billion.
some Democrats, especially those from oil producing states, were torn between support for the pipeline and their support for the president. The amendment was defeated 56-42, even though 11 Democrats broke ranks to support it. Sixty votes were needed for passage.
the Senate turned down an amendment to expand offshore oil drilling even though its sponsor, Sen. David Vitter, D-La., contended it would increase domestic energy supplies and reduce gas prices.
HYPOCRITES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lawmakers are under pressure to act quickly because the government’s authority to collect about $110 million a day in federal gasoline and diesel taxes and to spend money out of the trust fund that pays for highway and transit programs expires at the end of the month. Chris Bertram, a Transportation Department official, said that if Congress doesn’t meet the deadline, aid to about 130,000 transportation projects around the country will be disrupted and federal workers who send that money to states will be furloughed.
Just because you righties think you know it all....doesn't mean you really DO know it all. In fact laboring thru all the "speculation" they swear as being "hand on the Bible truth" one would think they are all shills for the oil companies. Drill baby drill!!!! Who's your Daddy? Exxon? lol
Yep..this is a no value post but I feel so much better..............so collapse away.
HonestJo , why do I think of a used car sales person I want nothing to do with, when I read your nick. The residents of Nebraska do Not want an oil pipeline in their aquifer. Canada has no intention of sharing oil from the oil sands. If FR was a paid blogger her output wouldn't earn enough to keep a bird alive. Yours on the other hand suggests you could be paid by the G.O.P. to post dressed up clap trap. I counted 13 posts written by you in this thread alone all with the consistency of rancid cotton candy
As for the transportation bill I submit that the GOP house is trying to force O'bama in to approving the keystone project to get the signature. Get a clue. It is NOT going to happen with this president or this senate. Perhaps the GOP has already got the message. No wonder it is hell bent on disenfranchising every voter it can.
You are not winning over moderates or liberals with your toxic verbal venom. The only people impressed with your prose are those who agree with you to begin with. Want to call me a Liar, I have been gentle with you, when I wanted to go nuclear on you, make my day Jo.
O'bama will not be bullied. Neither will I.
Mark,
All you have to do to trump Feisty is use a few facts. Then when she comes back with a childish/opinionated Post of her own with no facts to back it up, tell her that when you resort to childish insults you have already lost the intellectual argument and ask HER for some facts to back up her rhetoric. ....works every time.
Let me read that again - "Senate Republicans blamed the defeat of a measure that would have allowed Congress to greenlight cross-border drilling without presidential approval on President Obama’s calling Senate Democrats urging them not to vote for it."
So in other words.....they wanted to pass a measure that would let them do something without the President's approval, and then they're mad because the President didn't approve of that?
And they STILL don't get why their approval ratings are hovering near the single digits?
Not only that--they're supposed to trust an oil & gas business with the precious aquifer when they don't even have a route yet?
Those pesky environmentalists---always suspicious of the oil companies.
Oh joann did you forget the majority in the senate are moonbats that is how they defeated the measure and is also the reason their approval rating is single digits. So now that bammy has figured out what won't work to bring gas prices down, when is he going to let us know what will. Your boy is a loser.
Better a moonbat than a GOP "dingbat". Proper way to address the POTUS is President Obama...I don't care if you hate his guts. He is your President just as President Bush was my President and I loathed him.
Grow up!!!!!
The President throws his Red State Dem Senators under the bus, to kowtow to his extremist base.
There go 5 more US Senate seats to the GOP !
Only in the dreams of Vaginal Probe Bob.
Did you get your new t-shirt,
"Virginia is for lovers of transvaginal probes?"
Who else but a Republican would deem concerns about drinking water and irrigation EXTREMIST?
His extreme base? You mean the Republican Governor of Nebraska and all the Republican Mayors that don't want this running through their drinking water? The way the GOP is going this year, they will be part of the Obama base. Thank you all for your regular displays of foolhardiness!
The President throws his Red State Dem Senators under the bus, to kowtow to his extremist base.
Hey "Vagina Bob" - Explain yourself...
When Republicans see hypodermic needles on the shore along with sewage they call it Liberal Bulls@*T.
Dream on GT
Get the proper details worked out and then maybe the President can can get on board.
The President will be on board come January there ford boy and the pipeline project will begin.
Is that when Keystone XL will actually pick a route and complete an environmental impact statement?
ANY administration needs those things to approve the pipeline...that's the law.
"By personally lobbying against the Keystone pipeline, it means the president of the United States is lobbying for sending North American energy to China and lobbying against American jobs."
This is undeniably 100% true.
Vaginal Probe Bob, this is undeniably 100% false.
What part of "Oil Is A Commodity Traded On A Global Market" do Republicans fail to understand?
Bob wouldn't know the truth if it someone hit him upside the head with a Big government Vaginal probe.
Bob in Virginia-5210392
It is rare that I get a chance to be so erudite ... thank you ... moron
Bob,
(Reuters) - TransCanada Corp said on Monday it will build the southern leg of its $7 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline first, skirting a full-blown U.S. review and giving President Barack Obama ammunition to hit back at Republicans who have blasted his energy policy.
The White House welcomed the move, and said it would work to expedite permits for the southern portion of Keystone XL, which in its entirety is widely criticized by environmentalists for its route near underground water supplies in Nebraska and its potential to fuel more development of Canada's oil sands.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/27/us-keystone-idUSTRE81Q1II20120227
Desperation is a pathetic thing....................Bob (in Vag)
I am stunned that the GOP is pushing so hard for this since to build the XL Pipeline the government will be taking privately owned land against the land-owners' permission. I thought that was something the Republicans hated?
The opposition didn't start with long-haired hippies, but with good ol' heartland ranchers wanting to keep their own land without the government taking it against their will.
Obama is on the side or private land-owners, the GOP is on the side of government taking private property.
They are only against government interference unless they are making money on it. Or, it opresses women or minorities.
Shh, don't let facts get in the way of the Conservative narrative...it offends them.
I am happy that this "Pipeline To Nowhere" idiocy went nowhere. If it is such a good deal, then why doesn't Trans Canada transport it's tarsand sludge...Trans-Canada. The oil companies are implying that the United States is Canada's third-world, backwater, banana republic that will do their high-risk dirty work. Now it is time to replace the Oil company schilling senators that voted for this garbage.
I'm curious to see how two particular Senators voted...Ben Nelson and Mike Johanns.
From The Hill:
The 11 Democratic defections were Sens. Max Baucus (Mont.), Mark Begich (Alaska), Bob Casey (Pa.), Kent Conrad (N.D.), Kay Hagan (N.C.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), Jon Tester (Mont.) and Jim Webb (Va.).
All Republicans voted for the Bill. 2 Republicans didn't vote for some reason.
I voted for the President. As a member of Pipeliners Local 798 of Tulsa Ok., I will not be making that mistake again. Obooba can kiss the building trades labor vote away. Teamsters, Operating Engineers, Laborers, boilermakers and electricians know we have a man in the White House that stabbed labor in the back. You enviro-morons can crow all you want now, but there is a day of reckoning in November. Republicans are not labor's friend, but they know they have a winning issue, or else they would not be pushing the bill. It is sad the pipeline has become a political foot ball. As a pipeliner we want the jobs not the drama.
Oh My - juvenile threats!
Feel better now? lol
Ah Feisty, If I had so many suitors.
LOL!
Jaysus... who let the patients out this evening before the med-cart made it's rounds?
Feisty redhead, ask Al Gore about Ohio and West Virgina in the year 2000. He was pouring liquid in the steelworkers and coal miners pockets and telling them it was raining. He lost Ohio by 100,000 votes, mostly in the Southeast region. If he had not lost those two states, Florida would not have mattered.
I am a 23 year brother in the Local 49ers Operating Engineers (Minneapolis). Will be voting for President Obama again. Like most of the members will also. So, you are not speaking for the Operating Engineers.
Thank YOU - Thank YOU - Thank YOU!
Unions are not monolithic intitutions. There are dissenters. However, the vast majority know about the stab in the back by the President. The locals in the path of the great project will certainly know about the loss of millions of man hours.
Oklahoma? Nuff said.
Seems like Romney had trouble winning in his home state too. And that was just in the primary. lol
If you really are a member of the 798rs and you are voting republican you should take a withdrall slip and go work non-union. Do you not follow the news at all? Every rep running has vowed to take the unions down. 17 year member of local 302 operating engineers. Good to hear from ya Gram.
Carpenters Local 2087 will overwhelmingly vote for President Obama in November.
NIMBY - remember that term? Nebraska, the red Go Big Red state - home to drinkers of water.
God bless our aquifer, our clean air, and our college football team. "Nothing else matters!"
What is really sad is that 830,00 barrles a day of crude won't be hitting the intercoastal highway at Beaumont Texas. The crude was not bound for China. That is a lie created by the eviro-nazis to muddy the water. It was bound for the refineries that line the Gulf coast and East Coast to replace the Venezualen crude. You environemental nitwits are Hugo Chavez's best friends forever.
All oil produced goes on the world market. Once it's refined, its off to China, India, or whoever bids the most for it.
Why would Gulf coast refiners not use the Canadien and Bakken Crude? the oil from Venezuala is a lower grade of crude and is harder to refine. They will refine the crude here and export some of the products. Plus they save on the costs of tanker shipping.
I'm sure the gulf coast refineries would love to have the Canadian oil. It still doesn't mean we'll get any of it. If Canada wants to sell its oil, let'em refine it themselves. The odds of us getting it will remain the same regardless of where its refined.
Chucky,
Our refineries are older since we haven't built a new one in decades. They are designed to refine lighter, sweeter crude. Now, they need to import crude at a premium from overseas. They can use that oil for the American Market, rather than buying crude from Africa and refined product from Venezuela, because it will be cheaper to acquire and process.
A good deal of the oil supply is in politically unstable areas. The threat of supply disruption, along with demand, is what speculators look at when they bid on oil futures. If there were another large politically stable supply that could get to market cheaply, the overall cost of oil would go down.
Large scale oil pipelines have been in use since before 1920. Even with more primitave technology, they were able to bring Texas crude oil to Kansas City and Chicago safely. It is not a good assumption that oil pipelines lead to environmental disaster.
The only reason I can see for not developing current resources is to make oil as expensive as alternatives. What would make more sense would be to keep the price of oil from going too high so we can grow while the alternative energies become more economical. This would allow economic growth along with technological growth.
[Why would Gulf coast refiners not use the Canadien and Bakken Crude?]
Canadian, and any other tar sand, is a refining nightmare and is not, at this time, not economically viable.
Bakken crude, especially the enormous reserves under the Rockies, you simply cannot get to with todays techniques.
Point being is that we are moving away from fossil fuels as much as possible.
Get used to it.
Gasoline costs about $4.00 a gallon in the US, In the UK a gallon of gas costs +- $10.00 a gallon. Guess where the oil is going to go.
It is ludicrous to not foward this pipeline. it s a matter of National Security. Quit building up the Middle East so it can be tore down- invest in America. how can we not work with Canada? how can we allow our precious domestic oil reserves to go overseas? this is not THE answer, but it is a part of the puzzle to liberate America from the insanity of oil producing nations. Get it done Obama or you are going to get voted out.
why is it a matter of national security, when we are EXPORTING oil today?
If you want to stop our precious, precious, precious domestic oil reserves from going overseas, then tell the oil companies to quit exporting domestically produced oil.
How is oil drilled in Canada and sold on international markets by Canada related to our national security? It only becomes an issue of international security if we are lay the pipeline across US land. Then we are subject to international bomb threats by those who want to stop the flow of oil out of Canada.
I just can't believe Barrack can be soooo stupid as to squash this huge project. Seems more and more like he is not our President at all, more like an enemy of the people masquerading as our President.
All those jobs, all those paychecks for all those American families. No stimulus money involved either. What a total fool.
do you know how to get home from the supermarket? Been reading your posts and you seem to have a problem separating fact from fiction.
There are three estimates on this project- the state dept did one about a year ago and showed hiring would increase by 4-5,000 people. Cornell U did a study and concluded about 5-6,000 jobs created. Now the lobbyist for the oil industry concluded 20,000 jobs. Wonder what figure you believe Mr Parent.
Lets gamble on the water supply for half the state of Nebraska, the Republican gov. of Nebraska opposed to the pipeline- all this to make MONEY for BIG OIL which is the REPUBLICON party.
How did he quash the project? Find one citation where he said he would never let the project happen. Happy hunting and good luck.
Honestly can some one tell me where the pipeline from Canada to China is? Did I miss something about us being able to get the oil without the pipeline. This is not about oil or prices. If it was about us not having enough oil we would not be exporting more oil than we have in recent history. Also this is not about gas prices, because it would take years before the effects of the pipeline could have any effect on our gas prices. I think we need to look very deep at why the politians want this so bad.
OBAMA - WHAT IS THE REAL AGENDA
1. When elected gas was at $1.86 a gallon +/-
2. Shortly after elected gas hit $3.00 a gallon
3. It has remained at $3.50 for almost three years and now poised to hit $4.00 or more
4. Obama has admitted he wants it to be at least at $8.00 a gallon
5. This represents from 2009 to present a shift of approximately $258billion dollars a year from individual
discretionary spending to the oil companies
6. Obama gave our tax money to GM. GM produces an Electric car that no-one wants but Obama touting the vehicle to every American…buy...buy…buy. Now he wants to use more taxpayer's money to up the tax credit so the average guy can buy one.
7. Electric Cars run on electricity
8. Electricity is produced primarily from Coal
9. Obama and his EPA cronies have made it so hard for Coal production to exist, that just today 3/8/12, 5 coal
plants have shut down
10. If we are to buy these electric cars, what are they going to run on?
11. Obama today 3/8/12 again called his crony democrat friends to ensure the keystone pipe-line is put on ice
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Friends….this man has an agenda.
What that agenda is has not yet come to fruition. However…if this man is elected again I am deathly afraid that we will find out.
You have seen Obama's recent video
where Obama is calling for All Black People to vote for him because he is Black. This is utterly disgusting and racist.
Friends: Again, this man has an agenda that the average Joe does not know about and I can assure you we do not want.
Please wake up. The United States of America is changing right before your very eyes. Stay alert, be very skeptical, and remember our constitutional commitments as citizens of this great country. We are required to protect this country from all enemies both foreign and domestic. Obama and his radical,unknown agenda, is the biggest threat to our democracy that this country has ever seen. In addition, his supporters, who will say my comments bunk, are blinded by their own disbelief and ideology. Rise up my friends and make sure you VOTE TO RESTORE AMERICA. God Bless!
Where were you Duluth in the summer of 2008 when gas prices were over $4 a gallon? Were Drilling and exporting more oil now than we have in over 30 years.
Oh...and that is a brand new discovery for you. And do you even know what we actually export? Go do some freaking home work.
Duluth,
[3. It has remained at $3.50 for almost three years and now poised to hit $4.00 or more] It was at an al-time National high of $4.11 in the summer of 2008.
[4. Obama has admitted he wants it to be at least at $8.00 a gallon] At his last Presser - President Obama: “Ed, just from a political perspective, do you think that the President of the United States going into re-election wants gas prices to go higher? Is there anybody here who thinks that makes a lot of sense? Here’s the bottom line with respect to gas prices. I want gas prices lower because they hurt families.”
[8. Electricity is produced primarily from Coal] and wind and solar and nuclear power and …
[11. Obama today 3/8/12 again called his crony democrat friends to ensure the keystone pipe-line is put on ice] (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp said on Monday it will build the southern leg of its $7 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline first, skirting a full-blown U.S. review and giving President Barack Obama ammunition to hit back at Republicans who have blasted his energy policy.
The White House welcomed the move, and said it would work to expedite permits for the southern portion of Keystone XL, which in its entirety is widely criticized by environmentalists for its route near underground water supplies in Nebraska and its potential to fuel more development of Canada's oil sands.
Duluth, I have tried my best to find the EPA law that passed against coal mining and the best I could come up with is some suggested changes but could not find any passed laws. Nor could I find the Obama video you commented on. Could you also post the location of the wire taps that were done on the presidents conversations that he had with his "Crony democrat friends" that you know took place.
I'd love to know why the general public is in the mindset that the President has everything to do with the price of gas.That makes about as much sense as the President having a direct effect on Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice,c'maan people you live in a democracy NOT A FRICKEN GOVERNMENT CONTROLLED COMMUNIST STATE.The pipeline has absolutely no effect on gas prices at all here because the American general public and it's governing body have about as much control over the price of gas as they do the weather.Oil is drilled on LEASED public or private land/water...once it's leased anything on it,above it(to a legal extent) or below it is the lessee's,NOT THE FRICKEN GOVERNMENTS" and so they have sole control over who is going to buy,AND MORE LIKELY THAN NOT,whomever buys it will most certainly will not be in the United States,and then the laws of supply and demand take over and is whyyy gas was $1.80 at the start of Obama's admin and is now what it is..or do you remember during the late Bush admin(2007)when gas was $4.50/gal?? or can you not remember that far back?
Look if the Average Joe can't understand the simple agenda he has the Average Joe should save us a lot of pain and withold his vote..
You forgot to say that as a young man...PRESIDENT OBAMA used to hug black college professors. Faux is gonna be mad that you missed this "oh so very important" line of propaganda.....Duhluth. Hannity is not going to like that seeing as it was his huge scoop via Breightbart*. r.i.p.
Desperation...."A terrible thing to waste".
I can't get a permit to add a bedroom to my house without showing a blueprint to the inspector. These clowns want to approve a multi-state pipeline whithout knowing the whole route??? Then they have the nerve to talk about jobs Obama is killing after they rejected the idea of a much needed infrastructure construction bill??? Get real Republicans... They wave the Bible and the Constitution with one hand while they stroke big oil with the other.
Good Lord. Is there a run on Moron deplomas.
Again, Fact were exporting and drilling more than double the amount of oil now than we have in decades so creating a pipeline so that we can buy more oil from Canada does what?
There are so many absolute morons on here. Drilling cannot lower prices...blah...blah...blah....so yes. Please let us depend more on foreign oil and not produce anything here. Please....we've only studied this pipeline for 3+ years, we dont need to find an alternate route. And for those idiots that want to cut their #ick off before the $uck...go ahead. THere isn't enough algie yet to run one freaking car. Of course everyone would like a good reliable alternate means of power. We dont have it and we will not have in our life time. But by all means...go ahead and destroy the US Econmy with these hopes of running your transportation on cow farts in the next few months. If that is the economy you want....go for it and bring Barry back for 4 more years.
And by any means do you know how much gasoline and oil this country USES a day by any chance?Look,get real,the world's changed theres a lot more people likeyou out there drivinespecially in China and they'll pay more than you do for a gallon of go go juice..Live with it,it's the new reality
America's oil consumption, which is 18.8 million barrels per day (mbd), according to the EIA. That usage puts the U.S. atop the list of the world's largest oil consumers by a wide margin. Indeed, U.S. demand is more than that of the next four nations combined: Japan, Russia and rising economic powers China and India:
U.S : 18.8, China: 8.3, Japan: 4.4, India: 3.1, Russia: 2.7. The U.S. by itself consumes 22% of the world's oil supply.
Also the U.S. is still the No. 3 producer of oil in the world.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/28/surprising-facts-about-us-and-oil/
So let me get this straight, the GOP wanted to place the heartland of America at risk so Socialist Canada can send oil to Communist China?
In a word...NO. That area is already cris-crossed with oil pipelines.
Drillers in the Marcellus shale have drilled themselves out of a job because they found so much natural gas. The price went from $ 8.00 at the well head to $2.38 recently. The gas was found on private land so the evironmental wackos could not stop it. The truck fleet will soon be switching to compressed natural gas. It is the simple law of supply and demand. Get the EPA out of the way and we can drill our way out of this mess. We wont have to kiss the feet of Middle East potentates. The price of oil started fallling 1982 when production was at peak in Alaska. If we find our own reserves and use alternative energy like CNG we wont be at the whims of Middle East politics. This alternative energy won't be solar, wind or unicorn power.
It's not funny at all how the TEA-GOP-Republican parties have tried to label president Obama as the root cause of energy prices. The TEA-GOP-Republicans blame themselves because they're lying about the Keystone pipeline and it's benefits. Gas speculators and futures personnel are bidding up the price. The more likely reason behind the price increase, though certainly less compelling as a political argument, is the recent spate of refinery closures in the U.S. Over the past year, refineries have faced a classic margin squeeze. Prices for Brent crude have gone up, but demand for gasoline in the U.S. is at a 15-year low. That means refineries haven’t been able to pass on the higher prices to their customers. As a result, companies have chosen to shut down a handful of large refineries rather than continue to lose money on them. Actually, the President doesn’t have that kind of pricing power. Since December, the U.S. has lost about 4 percent of its refining capacity, says Fadel Gheit, a senior oil and gas analyst for Oppenheimer. This week, Hovensa finished shutting down its refinery in St. Croix. The plant processed 350,000 barrels of crude a day, and yet lost about $1.3 billion over the past three years, or roughly $1 million a day. The St. Croix plant got hit with a double whammy of pricing pressure. Not only did it face higher prices for Brent crude, but it also lacked access to cheap natural gas, a crucial raw material for refineries. Without the advantage of low natural gas prices, which are down 50 percent since June 2011, it’s likely that more refineries would have had to shut down. TEA-GOP-Repubican lies!
You hit the nail on the head. The demand is at a 15 year low. But why? Maybe it's because the economy is still in recession (even though the left said it ended) and unemployment is still really high (even though the left said it's low). People cannot afford to drive anywhere when gas is over $4.80 per gallon and Obama is doing nothing to help the situation. Hang in there America. November is coming..
Who is to blame when gas hit's $6/gallon? Boehner? McConnell? Or Obama?
OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Neither the leader of the House, the senate minority leader, nor the president of the United States controls the price of gas at the pump. It's naive to think and argue otherwise.
If they did have that power ti would need to go under the category of "socialism." And that word just drives Republican/TeaBaggers nuts. That's mainly due to the fact they not many Republican/TeaBaggers can give you a definition of "socialism" without going to a dictionary.
It's also naive to think that drilling for more oil at home translates into lower prices at the home pumps. Nothing could be further from the truth. That oil, like all oil, would go on the market and sold to the highest bidder.
Obama in 2012, if only because every major Republican in America is scared sh*tless of Fat Boy Rush Limburger.
Freaking hilarious.
they are socialist.
This pathetic puke of a president has done everything he can to hurt this country and the American people yet he wants the credit for anything good that is completely out of his power! He raved about the record oil production in the US but did not say it was because of the private land oil drilling,not public(out of his hands) that he had COMPLETELY shut down from the keystone pipeline to Anwar and offshore drilling! There are at least 5 other countries drilling off our coast! I,myself would trust our companies before oBAMAS buddy like chavez! This puke even states that he does not mind high prices on gas and is trying to shut down every coal burning plant like twinkle toes emmanual did in Illinois! How are we suppose to charge those electric clown cars GM(government motors) is trying to force us to buy? No oBAMA or socialist lib mooching democrats in 2012!!!!
So where is all that oil that we fought for and thousands of our kids died for in Iraq? Want some more blood on your hands Repukes? Lets go to Iran. They have LOTS of oil.
This recovering economy can ill afford another war for oil. So snivel and pout. Stomp your feet and turn blue.............but we are exporting oil and drilling is up beyond what W did. How's that helping? Drill baby drill is nothing but a mindless chant "drilled" into good little Gop koolaid drinkers heads.
You haters are scary..............
it is the policy of the obama administration to do all that they can to destroy the oil & gas and coal (fossel fuel) industries so that he can make his loser green subsidised (not just tax breaks) technology look better.
Green Technology is an economic disaster
Goodnight Sunshine
Germany is cutting solar-power subsidies because they are expensive and
inefficient
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/project_syndicate/2012/02/why_germany_is_phasing_out_its_solar_power_subsidies_.html
Spain's Green Disaster a Lesson for America
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/finance/2011/November/Spains-Green-Disaster-a-Lesson-for-America/
Germany is cutting solar-power subsidies because they are expensive and
inefficient
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/project_syndicate/2012/02/why_germany_is_phasing_out_its_solar_power_subsidies_.html
Goodnight
Sunshine-READ IT ALL!!!
Germany is cutting
solar-power subsidies
because they are expensive and inefficient.
By Bjørn Lomborg|Posted
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012, at 7:30 AM ET
Windows covered in
solar panels in Munich, Germany
Christof
Stache/AFP/Getty Images.
Germany once prided
itself on being the “photovoltaic
world champion”, doling out generous subsidies—totaling more than $130 billion,
according to research from Germany’s Ruhr University—to citizens to invest in
solar energy. But now the German government is vowing to cut the subsidies
sooner than planned and to phase out support over the next five years. What
went wrong?
Subsidizing green
technology is affordable only if it is
done in tiny, tokenistic amounts. Using the government’s generous subsidies,
Germans installed 7.5 gigawatts of photovoltaic capacity last year, more than
double what the government had deemed “acceptable.” It is estimated that this
increase alone will lead to a $260 hike in the average consumer’s annual power
bill.
According to Der Spiegel,
even members of
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s staff are now describing the policy as a massive
money pit. Philipp Rösler, Germany’s minister of economics and technology, has
called the spiraling solar subsidies a “threat to the economy.”
Germany’s enthusiasm
for solar power is understandable.
We could satisfy all of the world’s energy needs for an entire year if we could
capture just one hour of the sun’s energy. Even with the inefficiency of
current PV technology, we could meet the entire globe’s energy demand with
solar panels by covering 250,000 square kilometers (155,342 square miles),
about 2.6 percent of the Sahara Desert.
Unfortunately,
Germany—like most of the world—is not as
sunny as the Sahara. And, while sunlight is free, panels and installation are
not. Solar power is at least four times more costly than energy produced by
fossil fuels. It also has the distinct disadvantage of not working at night,
when much electricity is consumed.
In the words of the
German Association of Physicists,
“solar energy cannot replace any additional power plants.” On short, overcast
winter days, Germany’s 1.1 million solar-power systems can generate no
electricity at all. The country is then forced to import considerable amounts
of electricity from nuclear power plants in France and the Czech Republic.
Indeed, despite the
massive investment, solar power
accounts for only about 0.3 percent of Germany’s total energy. This is one of
the key reasons why Germans now pay the second-highest price for electricity in
the developed world (exceeded only by Denmark, which aims to be the “world
wind-energy champion”). Germans pay three times more than their American
counterparts.
Moreover, this
sizeable investment does remarkably little
to counter global warming. Even with unrealistically generous assumptions, the
unimpressive net effect is that solar power reduces Germany’s CO2
emissions
by roughly 8 million metric tons—or about 1 percent – for the next 20 years. To
put it another way: By the end of the
century, Germany’s $130 billion solar
panel subsidies will have postponed temperature increases by 23 hours.
Using solar, Germany
is paying about $1,000 per ton of CO2 reduced.
The current CO2 price in Europe is $8. Germany could have cut 131
times
as much CO2 for the same price. Instead, the Germans are wasting
more than 99 cents of every
euro that they plow into solar panels.
It gets
worse: Because Germany is part of the European
Union Emissions Trading System, the actual effect of extra solar panels in
Germany leads to no CO2 reductions, because total emissions
are already capped.
Instead, the Germans simply allow other parts of the EU to emit more CO2.
Germany’s
solar panels have only made it cheaper for Portugal or Greece to use coal.
Defenders of Germany’s
solar subsidies also claim that
they have helped to create “green jobs.” But
each job created by green-energy
policies costs an average of $175,000—considerably
more than job creation
elsewhere in the economy, such as infrastructure or health care. And many
“green jobs” are being exported to China, meaning that Europeans subsidize
Chinese jobs, with no CO2 reductions.
Germany’s
experiment with subsidizing inefficient solar
technology has failed. What
governments should do instead is to focus first on
increasing research and development to make green-energy technology cheaper and
more competitive. Production should be ramped up later.
In the meantime,
Germans have paid about $130 billion for
a climate-change policy that has no impact on global warming. They have
subsidized Chinese jobs and other European countries’ reliance on dirty energy
sources. And they have needlessly burdened their economy. As even many German
officials would probably attest, governments elsewhere cannot afford to repeat
the same mistake.
This
article comes from Project Syndicate
I would love to say STFU but you have a right to spew hate and worship mammon*. What are you going to do when Limbaugh is bounced from the airwaves? I guess you'll have to drum up your own vitriol and lies........
egghead,,,great debate facts that are expected from a socialist mooching lib democrat oBAMAzombie!