In Energy, Natural Gas Should be Key
Sep 7, 2009 Political
The Waxman- Markey Bill, now going in for consideration by the Senate, when they finally decide they want to actually do some work, will be heavy on “renewables” and “carbon credits”- which is a bunch of Bull—- in the end. All carbon credits do is provide more money to the government, and we have all seen how badly they handle money- they should not be allowed any more. They need to learn how to handle what they do have. I would take away their car allowances, and make them walk or take a cab. A little humility might go a long way towards fiscal responsibility, but that’s another post.
This one concerns the energies we already use, and how we can better use them. Natural gas is, (no pun intended), a natural, simply because the infrastructure retrofit required would be less than other technologies, as a LNG tank could be moved onto property easier than adapting other technologies to a service station, and Natural Gas is fairly friendly on emissions, especially for a fossil fuel.
HOUSTON — The natural gas industry has enjoyed something of a winning streak in recent years. It found gigantic new reserves, low prices are encouraging utilities to substitute gas for coal, and cities are switching to buses fueled by natural gas.
But its luck has run out in Washington, where the industry is having trouble making its case to Congress as it writes an energy bill to tackle global warming.
nytimes.com
That’s right- if it’s a fossil fuel, you can bet that the enviro- nuts will be against it, and condemn it out of hand, rather than see how clean we could make them, especially since we are stuck with them until Congress sees the light on Nuclear power for electrical consumption.
The use of the fossil fuels coal and natural gas are competing for shares of power generation, and thus are in an adversarial position with regards to the other, when they should be acting together- they are both, after all, facing the same threat of extinction or at least severe restrictions. Coal has more to fear than natural gas, but they are in essence, tarred with the same brush.
The difference of opinion is about more than what is best for the environment, of course. Industry profits are riding on the outcome of the discussion — a rich mix of politics, environment, science and business.
A climate-change bill that passed the House in June, intended to cap greenhouse gas emissions, delivered benefits to renewable fuels like wind and solar and strengthened building codes to conserve energy.
~snip~
“The Senate is more open to natural gas as a transition fuel than the House was,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, “but the senators from the coal states who are crucial votes are going to want first consideration for coal.”
The gas industry’s leaders say they will descend on Capitol Hill in coming weeks to press their case about the advantage of gas, including that it emits about half the greenhouse gases as coal.
The industry has formed a new lobbying group, and it is planning a national campaign that includes television advertising. Executives want fewer allowances for coal. They also want legislation that gives incentives for companies to convert truck fleets from diesel to natural gas.
“Never in my life have I been confronted with something so obviously easy and good to do and have such Congressional apathy,” said Aubrey McClendon, chief executive of Chesapeake Energy and a leading voice in the industry. He added that he was still hopeful the Senate can improve the House bill.
nytimes.com
Now, to be fair, Mr. McClendon has a dog in this hunt- he is a proponent of Natural Gas, and he wants to make money- that’s a given, but he will throw the coal industry under the bus, when he should be working with the coal industry, and the nuclear industry- instead, it has become a divide and conquer deal with the liberals against the energy sector and its subsets.
But the coal industry will also be active. Vic Svec, a senior vice president at Peabody Energy, a large coal company, said coal was still a better fuel because its price is more stable than gas.
“Coal with carbon capture and storage is the low cost, low carbon solution and has fantastic implications for the nation’s energy security,” he said.
But it is not only coal-industry lobbyists and their Congressional supporters who favor the concept of carbon sequestration. David Hawkins, a climate change expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said simply replacing coal with natural gas for power generation was “not a viable strategy” because that would merely delay climate change by a few decades.
nytimes.com
When a more relaxed view is taken regarding the energy sector, where the existing technologies are encouraged to improve their energy production, with special emphasis on the end product of waste, all while perfecting the new technologies of wind and solar, there will be an increased productivity in these technologies. Strangling the existing modes of energy production is counter- productive to forming new ones- it just slows the whole process, and if we truly want to use new and more efficient energy sources, we need to transition carefully and patiently.
This House Energy Bill, Waxman-Markey, should be scrapped and a new, more workable one formed- just remember one thing-
It’s better to get it right, than to get it right now.
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Tags: coal, energy, natural gas, solar, stupidity, Waxman- Markey, wind
The Dumbest People In The Room
Jul 8, 2009 Political
Yes, it has come to that- those are the people we elect nowadays- the dumbest people in the room, the ones who sat in the back of the class, and slept through the classes on math, and history, because they were boring. These are the ones who either had rich daddies, or made a living selling drugs and scamming the other students.
There is a set of people who have a native slyness, one that allows them to sidestep the ordinary rigors of actually doing the work that needs to be done, finding instead ways for others to do the work, and for themselves to grab the credit. These are the people who have, by and large, been elected to office, with their main accomplishments being able to read from a teleprompter, or having been married to another slacker who had been elected president.
Biden’s main accomplishment seems to be that he rode a train without getting lost or falling off. Some of the others are even less clear on their positive benefits to society. Geithner? Sorry, he’s Secretary of the Treasury, and can’t even count- Janet Napolitano? She was a Governor of a border state, and was apparently blind to illegal immigration. What? Yea, you heard me- I said she wouldn’t know a Mexican if she was to see one, and she probably had an army of them sprucing up the Governor’s mansion.
Charlie Rangel? He is the one responsible for writing the tax code that you and I have to follow, but he apparently does not, with rental properties in the Dominican Republic, and leased cars going untaxed- why? His response was that he did not understand the tax code. What?
And all the “Czars”? The guy in charge of the cars has no knowledge of the auto industry, and all the rest do not know what they are doing- all they DO know is that they are to be loyal to the death for Hussein- okay, maybe not death- but then again, how do we know?
Hussein has been busy re-making America (at least the financial sector, so far) in the socialist image, where if you have spare money, well you might as well give it to someone poor, because the government surely will.
Barney Frank, the architect of the home mortgage meltdown, now wants to do the same thing for condominiums, asking Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac to loosen regulations so poor people can buy condos- this is how things got so bad in the first place- Franks forced the banks to loosen the regulations on home loans, which were guaranteed by Fannie Mae, because Barney Franks forced them to do so, and the whole house of cards came tumbling down.
If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result, Barney Franks and anyone else on the Banking Committee who agrees with him are insane. They should be wearing a special helmet and kept away from sharp objects.
And now Hussein “isn’t ruling out a second stimulus?” I’m sorry, but I feel the country has been over- stimulated as it is- the last thing we need is some know- nothing saying, “Spend mo’ money!” “Show me the Benjamins!” It is obvious that he is and has been over his head on virtually every issue except possibly planting Michelle’s garden- wait, that was her decision? Scratch that last comment.
Just how stupid do these people have to be before we say, “No, nope, they are too brain dead to elect them.” I mean, it is not like elective office is a playtime where they can eat glue and play with rounded scissors- if it was, it surely wouldn’t affect all phases of our lives as it does.
We need the smartest people in the room, not the dumbest.
Yet look at who we elected.
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Turtles Are Not This Smart*
Jun 17, 2009 Political
* But they are at least as smart as the dumb people who thought up this boondoggle. This is indicative of the mindset of people who really do not know the value of a dollar, combined with the total ignorance of how turtles think and act, among other things. This is just one of the more ridiculous things that our money is being spent on. Look, I would have no problem with this project if I thought that turtles would actually use and benefit from this underpass built with several million of our dollars- of course, that would be an awful lot of turtles to make this project cost- effective.
The 13-foot tunnel near Tallahassee, Fla., runs under Highway 27 — a busy road that has the highest road-kill rate for turtles in the world, according to state officials.
Josh Boan, the Florida Transportation Department’s natural resources manager, said a large number of turtles and other wildlife are killed in the area. In addition to protecting wildlife, he said the project is needed for safety: turtles hit by vehicles can become flying projectiles.
foxnews.com
This is an example of government gone wild with regards to budgets. If turtles would or could use this, perhaps could almost wrap my mind around this, as I have spent countless amounts of time picking turtles off of roads where they are trying to get to the other side for whatever reason.
But the sad fact is that turtles are not reasoning creatures- they do not see this tunnel and think, “Cool, a better way to cross”, simply because they do not think on a cogent level. They are primatives in their thoughts, reacting to danger and comfort pretty much exclusively.
In studies, the turtle was shown to not even notice cars, since the speed of these cars were above the perception of these creatures. Nor have they ever been shown to have any logical thought processes- they are strictly instinctual creatures, so they will not travel to a tunnel to cross the road, because they are incapable of the thought it would take to make that connection. Therefore, all creatures who did employ this tunnel would truly do so by accident.
Don’t you think there could be better uses for what little money we really have, than to satisfy some delusional politician’s ecological feel- good nonsense at this time? I grew up catching snakes and turtles- I know how they think, and I am sympathetic to their plight, but this is so wrong- headed as to defy common sense on several levels. Turtles will cross the road whereever they come to the road, and that is a sad fact.< So say goodbye to 3.4 million dollars of your money, used on something that will not help that which it is intended to do- but that is the story of America's government when it comes to spending our money- they just have to spend it, or they will have some kind of budgetary aneurysm, and they just have to spend it on worthless stuff that sounds great, but does nothing.
Can’t we just, for once, actually spend money wisely? Does the President and Congress have to act like drunken lottery winners, spending money just because they can?
This is money we can not spare, not even for turtles.
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Tags: government waste, insanity, stupidity, turtles
International BBQ- Say What?
Jun 2, 2009 Political
I have to admit, I was just listening with half an ear when I heard that the Resident was inviting Iranians to various embassies for a fourth of July party, with Beer, BBQ, and fireworks- oh Joy. My first thought was ” Is he freakin’ kidding?” The last time there were Iranians in an American Embassy, things went a little, say- out of control, or didn’t he take a history course while at all his fancy schools?
I mean, all he has to do is ask Jiminy Carter, if he can get Carter to crawl out from under his desk (the poor man still shakes like a chihuahua with a brain seizure when he hears “Iran” and “embassy” in the same sentence).
Yes folks, let’s go in the wayback machine for this one and recall that it took electing a Republican to the Presidency to effect the release (20 minutes into his term) of the hostages that Iran had held for 444 days under a Democrat President’s impotent term.
So, apparently those who have never read history (like Barama) seem determined to repeat it. Of course I could be wrong, I would hope even a Democrat couldn’t be THIS wrong, but then I remember Jiminy Carter, who had” lust in his heart”, and was scared of a swamp rabbit. Now there’s a manly man.
If this crazy idea is true, then you can bet your (fill in the blank) that Hezbollah, and the Revolutionary Guard will be there, if for no other reason but to map the interior and plant bugs. That’s a best case scenario. The worst case scenario- well, ask Carter- perhaps his dementia will hold off long enough to be lucid on this subject, but I doubt it.
I worked for a time on Habitat for Humanity houses, and I must confess a secret desire to one day be working alongside Carter- I wanted to suddenly shout “Iran!” and see if he might viscerally react- maybe need some new Depends or something. No such luck, but one can dream, right? I figure he could use the adrenaline rush, and since his lack of spine and his incompetent Intelligence services ( hey- if the libs can make that charge when Dubya is in office, well, fair is fair) caused the Embassy takeover, it would be a little karmic payback.
Now, I will be the first to admit that on its face, it’s a ridiculous plan- believe me, if you want to have a good time on the fourth of July, the Hatfields do not invite the McCoys to the party, and I would like to think that even Barama has at least a remedial brainstem. I mean, this is like a reality show- I could see some producer pitching this “radical” idea to the WH staff.
” This will be the next Jon & Kate, trust me! We’re talking gonzo numbers, we’re seeing a rebranding of the way America is perceived, the way the whole enchilada is seen in the muslim world. This is big, you have no idea. We’ve run this up the flagpole and they not only saluted, they got down on their knees and kowtowed!” No kidding.
I hope I am wrong- as I said at the start, I only half heard it, so perhaps my constant disappointment with a Democrat has caused me to presume that he would just be dumb enough to think this is a good idea.
If so, he should think again- and ask Carter about the Iranians.
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Tags: Embassies, Fourth of July, Iran, stupidity
Dr. Strangelove Redux
May 27, 2009 Political
As Ronald Reagan said once,” Well, there he goes again-“, and indeed, here we go again. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. This seems to be an endemic problem today, as North Korea has just announced that it will not abide by the treaty it signed in 1953, and threatened to attack both South Korea and the American troops who are stationed there. Deja vu- many people are alive today for whom this little kerfuffle with communist N. Korea is but a little read footnote in the history books they are no longer required to study.
I was born during the Korean War. My father was a colonel in the Air Force at this time, and because of China’s proximity to N. Korea, tensions were extremely high, because, (and this is a lesson that we did not learn then, so it was repeated in Viet Nam) China is only comfortable with a buffer country protecting its borders, and has historically attacked anybody who threatened their buffer countries.
So when we crossed the Yalu river, the Chinese communists joined the battle, and from that point on, we were driven back and had to settle for the two Korea solution, which has satisfied no one.
Now, in response to the increased threat of missiles from N. Korea, Barama has ordered that the Department of Defense cut defensive missiles from our budget- how insane is this? This is akin to knowing the winter is going to be bad, so we will not buy any heavy coats, or firewood.
An ounce of prevention is truly worth a Megaton of cure. and yet, here is Robert Gates on missile defense-
We will restructure the program to focus on the rogue state and theater missile threat.
We will not increase the number of current ground-based interceptors in Alaska as had been planned. But we will continue to robustly fund continued research and development to improve the capability we already have to defend against long-range rogue missile threats – a threat North Korea’s missile launch this past weekend reminds us is real.
We will cancel the second airborne laser (ABL) prototype aircraft. We will keep the existing aircraft and shift the program to an R&D effort. The ABL program has significant affordability and technology problems and the program’s proposed operational role is highly questionable.
We will terminate the Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV) program because of its significant technical challenges and the need to take a fresh look at the requirement.
Overall, the Missile Defense Agency program will be reduced by $1.4 billion.
closingvelocity.typepad.com
Now, to terminate ANY of the missile defense systems is an act of complete idiocy. Every defensive system needs to be appraised as a stand- alone program. The MKV is (or was) particularly promising as was the ABL, or Air-borne Laser aircraft- sure there needs to be further tests and R&D- but we will get nowhere if we kill the programs. Is this going to be the attitude with regard to the less promising forms of alternative energy, or is this just a slam against the Defense Industry?
This is definitely NOT the time to slack off of research into ways to protect ourselves against missiles fired from rogue states who are insane enough to believe that they could get away with it.
Unfortunately, I now have to come to the conclusion that Barama can not and will not protect us, instead, stripping Defense of promising projects that could keep us safe against the growing threats of the 21st century, even as these threats coalesce around us. Perhaps it will take a missile strike on Los Angeles or San Diego, or full on Nuclear war between Iran and Israel in the Middle East, for him to wake up to the threat, but then we will be waaaay behind the curve in protecting ourselves.
Remember one thing- the burglar or attacker will absolutely not give you the time to go buy a gun for protection, they will kill you then and there.
It is ALWAYS better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum- If you wish for peace, prepare for war.
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Tags: budget cuts, missile defense, north korea, stupidity