No Runny Eggs

The repository of one hard-boiled egg from the south suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (and the occassional guest-blogger). The ramblings within may or may not offend, shock and awe you, but they are what I (or my guest-bloggers) think.

Archive for the 'Energy' Category

October 30, 2008

Reminiscing

by @ 5:25. Filed under Energy, Global "Warming".

Remember back to the good ol’ days when we were debating whether we were or weren’t in a recession, we were concerned that McCain might have to face Hillary and gas was $4.00?   Well, all three of those things are now ancient history.   Or are they?

NewsMax.com published an article Wednesday that claims that the International Energy Agency will publish a report saying that existing oil field production is declining at a rate far faster than previously thought.   While they recognize that it’s natural for   fields to decline and that increased investment can flatten or reverse that decline, they don’t believe it will be enough.

It seems that there are two ways to look at the IEA’s report.

One would be to continue the “drill here drill now” mantra.   Funny how the decreasing price of gas has seen an equal reduction in the discussion of gas prices.   I know the election has people’s attention but regardless of that outcome, we need to keep our foot on the pedal, so to speak.   This economic slow down isn’t going to last forever.   The minute that the markets sense that things will improve, oil prices will start to move up and so will gas prices.   If you like gas at a level that is about to go south of $2.00 in the Twin Cities, we need to keep production up.

The second thought is, “Gee, is it just coincidence that the IEA is raising a red flag on production now or is there something else going on?”   Likely not.

The IEA was originally organized during the oil crisis of the 70’s.   Its purpose was to coordinate activities amongst its member countries (now numbering 28 that are mostly Western and Asian countries) to reduce or eliminate oil supply disruptions, a laudable goal.   However, within the last year or so the IEA has hopped on the global warming bandwagon and now also focus on “alternative energy” and “mitigating climate change.”   In fact, the IEA has been a leading advisor to the UN on topics like emission trading and member country efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.   In a phrase, I’d say the IEA has mixed loyalties!

The IEAs final report is due to come out November 12th.   If the final report is as dire in its oil production forecast as what Newsmax is reporting, you can expect the Dems to cranking the sirens on the needs for a new stimulus to generate “green jobs for renewable energy!”   Just remember, if you hear those sirens, the report that generated them was created by an agency who no longer has oil production and mitigation of supply disruption as their sole, or some would argue, even their primary purpose.

October 14, 2008

Drill Here, Drill Now Tuesdays – 10/14/2008

by @ 16:00. Filed under Energy.

Yes, I forgot to put one up last week in the rush to get to DC (I HATE flights that leave at 7 am), but I’m back this week.

My gas price (south-suburban Milwaukee, WI) – $2.979/gallon

Well, we’ve had the ban on offshore drilling expired for two weeks, and even though I haven’t been paying very close attention, I don’t seem to recall any news on new leases. Then again, we do have an election coming up in 3 weeks, and the party that seems poised to win has promised to shut off the spigot.

If that happens, we’ll look back at $4/gallon gas and $140/barrel oil, and whatever you were paying in your locale for electricity, natural gas, and heating oil at their peaks to date with nostalgia. Do recall their non-drill “drill” bill that would have put most of the OCS off-limits. Do also recall they snuck a tax increase on domestic oil production into the bailout bill.

September 30, 2008

Drill Here, Drill Now Tuesdays – 9/30/2008

by @ 19:35. Filed under Energy.

This idea was started by Jessi at Wake Up America. It will appear here every Tuesday (whether I’m here or not; the only difference is I won’t be able to update the current gas price while on vacation) until Congress wakes up and allows a lot more domestic drilling (I’m not talking about just ANWR, or just off the Florida coast where Cuba, Red China and Brazil are preparing to drink our milkshake, or just the shale fields in the Rockies).

My Gas Price (south suburban Milwaukee County, Wisconsin): $3.539/gallon

This one is going up a bit late today, but we are within a few hours of seeing the Congressional ban on offshore drilling expire. I’ll be blunt; I want next week’s update to include news that offshore drilling leases are being negotiated and signed.

Offshore drilling is now in the hands of the oil companies and the Bush administration. I don’t want excuses; I want action, especially since this window of opportunity may be very short.

This, however, is only the beginning. There’s the matter of ANWR and oil shale out West that’s been locked up. While it’s not specifically oil-related, there’s also a lot of clean coal that’s been locked up. That needs to be opened up as well. The clock is ticking, and this has to happen.

September 24, 2008

BBBBBBBBULLSHIT!

by @ 15:22. Filed under Energy.

I’m pretty sure that’s how Jim Cramer would respond to this!

 

This headline from “The News Agency Who Shall Not Be Named:”
House votes to end offshore drilling ban

The article claims that because the Dems didn’t force the provision to extend the moratorium into a continuing resolution, they “voted to end” the ban!

What the hell?!?!?!?!

How can something that is not voted on be a vote not to do it?

“Nancy and the Dimmocrats” for all intents and purposes, voted to extend the ban with the ridiculous bill that they claimed was a “drilling bill.” Only when she did the math and found that she was going to lose House members if she tried to play chicken with the moratorium extension, did she cave on the issue.

Never forget; Nancy, Harry and the Democrat caucus’ in both the House and Senate have done absolutely nothing to increase even the possibility of energy supplies in this country.   What have they done?   They have ignored, obstructed, impeded, neglected and disregarded the will of 74% of the American People.

Are the Poll Trends for Dems Worse Than Thought?

by @ 5:46. Filed under Energy, Politics - National.

According to this article  by “The News Agency Who Shall Not Be Named,” Nancy and the Democrats have backtracked from their earlier commitment to shove a renewal of the offshore drilling ban into a continuing resolution bill.  

A continuing resolution bill is necessary because the “Do nothing Congress,” headed by Pelosi and Reid have, well, done nothing all session.   Included in their “nothing” is not passing spending bills that will allow the government to function next year.   So, like  college students who wait until the last day to do their assignments for the quarter, the Democrats are negotiating for a way to finish their work after the session is done.

You may remember that the House passed a bill last week that was touted as a “drilling bill.” In fact, the bill would have done next to nothing for drilling while putting onerous additional taxes on oil companies and redirecting billions of dollars to thus far, unproven and terribly inadequate “alternative energy” sources.

While the Senate hadn’t taken up the “drilling bill,” the House had promised that they were “going to the mats” and planned to insert a resurrection of the drilling ban into the continuing resolution. The thinking was that Bush wouldn’t have the political capital to veto a bill that keeps the government running. If he did, the thinking went, the Republicans wouldn’t dare sustain a veto when, in just a few weeks, they would have to face voters and explain why they had “shut down the government.”

As an aside, I for one am generally for a shut down of the government. Congress has been pretty much shut down for two years. As far as I can tell, many things, including the lapse of the oil drilling moratorium have improved, while issues like the current economic situation, surely wouldn’t have been changed.

So why did Pelosi change her mind? She seemed to have a good political position to at least give the Republicans a black eye. She obviously was against expanding drilling. She’s never done anything but what she found politically expedient so it couldn’t be that she is bowing to the will of the American people  who support drilling by overwhelming numbers!

I’ve thought about this all day and can only come up with one answer: The sudden and dramatic closing of gaps and, in some cases taking the lead, by McCain/Palin in numerous “swing” states, may well portend greater momentum towards McCain than current polls can capture.

Additionally, a dramatic surge in preference for Republicans shown in a recent Gallup poll, has the Republicans down only 3 points in the generic Democrat/Republican ballot. Just 30 days ago, the Republicans were down 11 in the same generic ballot.   This could portend fewer House losses and, dare I hope, maybe some surprise Republican pickups?

I think Nancy’s afraid for her job!

I don’t mean afraid in the sense that the Republicans retake the house, although that would be great!   I mean afraid in the political sense where she gets a significant mandate against her positions thus making her politically meaninglesser (can you be meaninglesser?   Can Nancy be any more meaningless? Let us count the ways that she has been meainingless just this year:   FISA, War funding, Surge, S-CHIP and, lest I forget, the drilling moratorium!)

I think Nancy did a calculation. Nancy added McCain’s gains in swing states with the point gain in the generic ballot.   She took that number and divided by 74% which is the ratio of Americans who want offshore drilling expanded.   She took that result and raised it to the 59th power which is the percentage of folks who support drilling in ANWR.   Nancy calculated that a certain way to galvanize support for Republicans was to “play chicken” with the drilling ban.

It turns out that Nancy did what Nancy always does, she made her decision not based on what is best for the American people.   She made her decision based on what is best for Nancy!

September 23, 2008

Drill Here, Drill Now Tuesdays – 9/23/2008

by @ 18:23. Filed under Energy.

This idea was started by Jessi at Wake Up America. It will appear here every Tuesday (whether I’m here or not; the only difference is I won’t be able to update the current gas price while on vacation) until Congress wakes up and allows a lot more domestic drilling (I’m not talking about just ANWR, or just off the Florida coast where Cuba, Red China and Brazil are preparing to drink our milkshake, or just the shale fields in the Rockies).

My Gas Price (south suburban Milwaukee County, Wisconsin): $3.759/gallon

America needs to drill here drill now. America is having a energy crisis, and we need to do something now!

The United States has vast oil and gas resources onshore and offshore that are currently illegal to develop and therefore inaccessible.

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 38 billion barrels of undeveloped oil resources (19 billion barrels onshore and 18.92 billion offshore).

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 180 trillion cubic feet of undeveloped natural gas resources (94.5 trillion cubic feet onshore and 85.7 trillion cubic feet offshore).

Also…

CONGRESS RECENTLY VOTED TO MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO DEVELOP U.S. OIL SHALE RESOURCES

With oil prices at an all-time high, Americans are facing escalating gas, diesel, and aircraft fuel increases. Oil prices are projected to increase further.

Congress, however, has made it illegal to develop vast domestic oil resources in large parts of the United States.

The most startling Congressional prohibition on domestic oil production concerns the recently enacted ban on the development of oil shale resources in parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming in the Green River Formation. According to a Rand Study estimate, this reserve contains over one trillion barrels of oil, with 800 billion barrels fully recoverable, or three times the current oil reserves as Saudi Arabia.

There, however, is some good news. There is very-late word that the House Democrats will not attempt to attach their no-drill bill making the easiest-to-exploit portions of America’s energy resources permanently inaccessible to the continuing resolution. Thus, the ban on the offshore drilling portion of the various roadblocks toward energy independence will be lifted next week Wednesday. While I have no doubt the Democrats will try again next year to ensure a perpetual energy crunch if they are left in power, and while this doesn’t directly address the lock-ups on on-shore oil and natural gas, clean coal, and oil shale, I’ll take this victory.

September 19, 2008

Maybe, The Wizard Does Have Brains!

by @ 9:45. Filed under Energy.

For the reference point, read my post here.

This morning, TheHill.Com is reporting that the Senate “Gang of Invertebrates” will not offer their energy bill until after the elections!

A bipartisan group of senators who sought a compromise in the rancorous energy debate won’t introduce their bill before lawmakers adjourn for the elections, several Senate aides said Thursday.

Well, maybe not everyone got a brain:

No legislative language was drafted in early August. But the group agreed to a broad set of goals, including transitioning 85 percent of the country’s automobiles to non-petroleum-based fuels within 20 years, providing incentives to boost nuclear energy, repealing billions in subsidies for oil companies, opening the Eastern Gulf of Mexico off of Florida for oil exploration, and allowing Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia to decide whether to allow drilling off their shores.

Yet there is still hope, even for the slow ones:

But many Republicans criticized the plan, raising concerns that by offering a compromise to Democrats and their presidential candidate Barack Obama, it would blunt a potent election-year attack that has gained traction at the polls. GOP presidential candidate John McCain opposed the plan, and Democrats were preparing to attack the Arizona senator for standing in the way of a bipartisan compromise. And many Republicans, like Sen. McCain, said repealing subsidies from oil companies would amount to a tax hike.

I’m glad to see that the Republicans now understandthe political angle of their “Suicide Compact.” Had the Senate R’s pushed forward with their plan, they would have either forced McCain to move with them or spend a lot of time explaining how his “friends” were “well meaning” but “dumb as a box of rocks on this topic.”

The drilling moratorium ends on October 1st. Unless the Dems try to force a reup for the moratorium into one of the budget bills (unlikely at this point), the world changes on October 2nd. I’m not suggesting that there is an armada of drilling rigs sitting in docks, building steam, ready to break loose the moorings on October 2nd. I am saying that I don’t know how the toothpaste gets back in the tube after the election. The one possibility is if the Dems sweep the Presidency, the House and a filibuster proof Senate…that would be bad not just for oil but for the entire economy. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen!

In the meantime, there are 20 Senators who still don’t get the bigger picture. I’ve got 2 in my state. You can bet they’ll be hearing from me (only one will even listen) while they’re home on the recess. A candidate is most pliable on their positions when they think their job is at risk.

September 18, 2008

We’re Off to See the Senate….I Wonder If They Have Any Brains?

by @ 5:07. Filed under Energy.

As if In some kind of a wierd  cult version of “The Wizard of Oz,” SanFranNan, Nick Rahall as the Scarecrow, Steny Hoyer as the cowardly lion and John Dingle, Gene Green and George Miller alternately playing the Tin Man, dropped a house on Biiiiiiig Oiiiiiiiil which they see as the evil witch, and are now headed off to the  Wizard to collect their rewards.

The “broom” that they carry is clearly meant to be a symbol of their hatred for Biiiiiig Oiiiiiiiil.   Besides playing shell game with “increasing” drilling, they have dramatically increased the taxes on oil companies at a time when we should be providing incentives to do more not less.   To make matters worse, the “broom” removes existing tax incentives from Biiiiig Oiiiiiiil.   The final straw (pun intended) is that the additional taxes the “broom” imposes on Biiiiiig Oiiiiiiil will be used to fund a blackhole of alternative energy “solutions.”

I heard the Sarah Palin interview on Hannity and Colmes tonight.   If the Dems approach to energy isn’t an example of them being hooked on OPiuM (Other People’s Money) and the redistribution of it, I don’t know what is.

When SanFranNan and company arrive at the Senate, they are hoping that the Wizard will grant them their rewards.   Just like in the real version, while the Wizard may appear to be a doddering fool, I’m beginning to think that there may be more wisdom there than meets the eye.

I never liked John McCain’s gang of 14.   I don’t like the current Senate’s Gang of Invertebrates any better.   That said, whether it was McCain’s design or not, it is a fair assessment that his gang got us a couple of good Supreme Court justices without having to call in the nuke strike.   I’m beginning to think that if the current gang handles things properly, they too can accomplish the greater good of increased drilling,  in spite of  having a bill that does no more good than the “broom” that the House is bringing.

If the Gang of Invertebrates can hold together, it is almost certain that no bill will come out of the Senate before the expiration of the drilling ban.   If that happens and the American people are provided hope for improved oil production three things will happen.   1.   There will be immense  scrutiny on the oil companies  drilling  activities, they will be in a use it or lose it situationa by virtue of the expectations created with the public.   2.   The “Greens” will be fully exposed as the obstructionists they really are and we can deal with them, maybe in a significant way, as they will be throwing lawsuit after lawsuit in an attempt to create their own drilling ban and 3.   It will be nearly impossible for the Dems to put the genie back in the bottle.

With my apologies to E.Y. Harburg:

“If drilling on the  big blue  sea,  lets cars run longer, why oh why can’t we?”

September 17, 2008

Liar Liar Pants on Fire!

by @ 5:01. Filed under Energy.

Just last week Denny Hoyer, sent out by Nancy Pelosi because she’s incapable of saying “I’m wrong,” was quoted by TheHill.com as saying:

"[Republicans] will have the opportunity to offer their alternative, yes," Hoyer said in response to a question about how the energy bill will be introduced. "We understand that their motion to recommit will be their Republican alternative."

Representative Marsha Blackburn (R) Tennessee calls “Bullshit” on Denny and Nancy with her statement:

"After a five-week vacation and a cross country book tour; during which time Democrats turned off the lights, turned off the cameras, and refused to address the energy issue; we have this 290 page sham energy bill dropped in the middle of the night. There hasn’t been a single hearing on this bill and not a single amendment will be allowed. This is no way to address the most pressing issue for America. On the process alone, this is unacceptable."

The bill the Dems dropped on the House today was just another example of Nancy Pelosi marking time and accomplishing nothing for the American people. Amongst other things, the ridiculous bill included:

  • The ability to drill offshore only outside of 50 Miles
  • The ability for states to opt out of the drilling forcing drilling out to 100 miles
  • Didn’t include some of the most productive drilling areas
  • Increasing taxes on oil companies, regardless of what they recovered, but up to $30B…most of which was going to be used to “invest” in unproven and going nowhere “alternative” energy solutions.

Besides the fact that in reality, this only opens drilling outside of 100 miles and really doesn’t add any substantial amounts of additional energy to the mix, the areas on the West coast that are at the 100 mile + distance are very difficult, if at all possible to drill because of the depths of the ocean.

Pelosi is trying to give her Democrat House members cover in the upcoming elections.   She’s trying to be able to say the the Republicans wouldn’t agree to a bipartisan bill.   You and I know the truth…pass it along.   I’m hoping the American people see through her ploys and shows her the door in November!

September 16, 2008

Paul Ryan on H.R. 6899

by @ 16:13. Filed under Energy, Politics - National.

This just came into my inbox from the staff of my Congressman, Paul Ryan (R-WI):

WASHINGTON – Wisconsin’s First District Congressman Paul Ryan condemned the latest election year energy stunt by the House Majority prior to today’s vote on H.R. 6899. Dubbed the "Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act," H.R. 6899 consists of a patchwork of previously rejected provisions, along with tax hikes, fees, and regulations that fail address our need for more American-made energy.

While Ryan and his fellow House Republicans have been petitioning for a comprehensive energy bill since the second week of May, H.R. 6899 was drafted in Speaker Pelosi’s office late last night and brought to the floor for a vote today. For an issue of such significance for the American people, the Speaker allowed for no amendments, no substitutes, and no opportunity for compromise. Shortly before the House voted on H.R. 6899, Ryan issued the following statement:

"The only energy to come out of this bill is the hot air from Congress. This sham energy bill is nothing more than a dry hole. The House Majority’s bill would permanently lock up the majority of American energy off of our coasts. The so-called drilling provisions are an attempt to hoodwink the American people and would do nothing to expand American energy production. States can choose to "˜opt-in’ to allow drilling within a narrow strip off their coasts, but without revenue sharing provisions, states have no incentive to "˜opt-in.’ What’s worse, this bill does nothing to address the excessive lawsuits by radical special interests that have held up existing leases for oil exploration. Simply put: this bill is a hoax.

"The House Majority has refused to adopt a bipartisan, all-of-the-above approach to tackle our energy crisis – one of the greatest problems we face as a nation today. By continuing to send $1.5 billion a day to hostile nations, today’s rejection of real energy solutions has only fueled our dependence on foreign oil and the threat to our national security. With mass layoffs and painful price spikes, Wisconsinites have been hit particularly hard by our energy crisis. Those I serve in Wisconsin’s First District deserve better.

"We must expand and diversify our supply of American-made energy. We must allow for more environmentally-sound drilling here in America. We must streamline the permitting process for new refineries. We must encourage nuclear power, clean coal, and more. Incentives for greater conservation efforts and a commitment to renewable energy are critical to this all-of-the-above approach. Rather than results, today we got more hot air from Congress."

###

Drill Here, Drill Now Tuesdays – 9/16/2008

by @ 15:47. Filed under Energy.

This idea was started by Jessi at Wake Up America. It will appear here every Tuesday (whether I’m here or not; the only difference is I won’t be able to update the current gas price while on vacation) until Congress wakes up and allows a lot more domestic drilling (I’m not talking about just ANWR, or just off the Florida coast where Cuba, Red China and Brazil are preparing to drink our milkshake, or just the shale fields in the Rockies).

My Gas Price (south suburban Milwaukee County, Wisconsin): $4.199/gallon

I would have taken the tack of previous Drill Here, Drill Now Tuesdays, but there’s a few fresh developments:

Doubleplusundead is reporting that The Gang of 10 16 that want to drill just in the hurricane-prone portions of the eastern Gulf and southeast Altantic is now the Gang of 20. That, combined with the rest of the ‘Rats opposed to plentiful energy independence, is enough to shove through a horrid “compromise”.

In case you haven’t noticed, even as the price of crude has fallen, the price of gasoline has exploded because almost all of the production is concentrated in a hurricane-prone area. To allow drilling only in an area that suffers from the same deficiency, sometimes at the same time, as the western Gulf of Mexico is beyond idiotic.

– The House of Representatives is working on a bill that is even worse than the Gang of 10 16 20. I missed most of the “debate”, but Shoebox e-mailed me with news that, despite earlier claims that the ‘Rat House leadership would allow an introduction of a serious drilling alternative, they rammed their no-drill plan through with no allowed changes.

The Institute for Energy Research (with a hat-tip to the gang at National Review Online) outlines just how bad this is: a permanent ban on drilling out to 50 miles including a fresh ban off of Alaska’s coast (which locks up most of the known reserves), no drilling at all in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (after all, the ‘Rats have to continue to allow their Communist allies to drink our Florida milkshake), a state right of refusal out to 100 miles with no revenue sharing that might sway a state to allow drilling at that distance, and a further socialistic meddling in the energy market. In exchange, it allows drilling beyond 100 miles, where there is no existing infrastructure (after all, the ‘Rats have to keep their promise of no relief for 10 years) and somewhere between 2 billion and 4 billion barrels of recoverable oil (when a full lifting of the offshore ban would bring 18 billion barrels of recoverable oil to market).

Given that, if nothing is done in the next 15 days, the entirety of the offshore drilling ban expires, it is time to urge the Senate to do nothing with regards to drilling. That’s right; I want gridlock. Tell your Senators and Congressmen, GRIDLOCK!

Revisions/extensions (3:56 pm 9/16/2008) – Corrected the current status of the House No-Drill bill.

September 12, 2008

Missed It By That Much!

by @ 5:32. Filed under Energy.

I still laugh at every episode of “Get Smart.” I never tire of the, obvious as a train at 10 yards, jokes that hit you over and over again. One of the more obvious ones that are repeatedly used, is variations on a situation where the outcome is obvious and assured but the writers cause what should be assured to foul up.   After one of those you almost always hear Agent Smart adding the insulting “Missed it by that much,” and his thumb and pointer finger indicating a space of just an 1/8th of an inch.

I’m getting the feeling we have a similar situation lining up for us with the issue of increasing drilling for oil.

A headline in Rollcall confirms what has been suspected for the past few weeks:

Democrats Lack Votes to Extend Drilling Ban

House Democrats appeared ready Wednesday to allow offshore oil drilling nationwide after leaders realized they do not have the votes to extend a drilling moratorium.

While that is great news and is a direct result of the focus that the House Republicans have had on energy during the recess, all the news is not good.

The Democrats, seeing that they are in a political corner, are attempting to yet again bamboozle folks into thinking that they care more about the average citizen than their own pork laden positions:

Under legislation outlined Wednesday afternoon but still under discussion among Democrats, drilling would be allowed 50 to 100 miles offshore nearly everywhere provided that states agree to it. Drilling would be allowed 100 miles or more offshore on both coasts.

States would not receive revenue-sharing from the drilling, which Republicans argue is a necessary component to give coastal states incentives to allow the drilling.

The plan being discussed is similar to the one I took to task here. Basically it keeps drilling outside of 50 miles, keeps a moratorium in place for the Eastern Gulf and still allows the individual states to veto drilling off of their coasts, even outside of the 50 mile limit.   While I’m sure the bill will have “Energy Independence” embedded somewhere in the title, the bill as currently laid out would have as much to do with energy independence as I will have on the amount of snow that will fall this winter.

While we may lose the battle in the house, there’s always the filibuster in the Senate right?   Um, no, yes, maybe?

The Senate has the Gang of 10 16.   For reasons that don’t satisfy me or the folks at the National Review, 8 Republicans have decided to aide and abet the Democrats, giving them cover.

The plan in the Senate is as bad and worse, than that being considered by the House. In addition to the 50 mile limit, the Senate bill would prohibit drilling off the Pacific coast and the Eastern Shore of Florida.

Combining  the Democrat’s 51 votes and 8 from the Republicans, it looks like the Senate may be able to squeak past a filibuster with just 1 or 2 more conversions.   May! In another RollCall article, John Stanton reports that not everyone within the Republican conference is happy with the Senate gang’s activities:

After weeks of working relatively unmolested, Republican members of the gang found themselves a target of party criticism this week.

According to lawmakers attending the weekly Conference luncheon Tuesday and the Republican Steering Committee’s Wednesday lunch, Members panned the policy provisions as well as the compromise’s potential to cripple the party’s sole advantage in an otherwise brutal campaign cycle.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) pitched the deal at the GOP gathering. One Republican Senator called the confrontation between group members and opponents at the Tuesday lunch "very one-sided."

"Saxby got up and made a presentation, and he got dumped on by a whole bunch of people," the lawmaker said.

In that same article is the notion that nothing will get pass a filibuster in the Senate:

Under Reid’s schedule for next week, the chamber will first vote on a Democratic energy bill that is widely expected to fail. Reid has said he would then like to vote on the group’s proposal, and leadership aides have said Reid has made it clear to his Members that he does not want his party to take any blame for the bipartisan agreement failing. Reid has said he would then like to have a vote on a Republican version, which is also expected to fail.

And that brings us to the most dangerous part of this exercise:

With much of the Democratic caucus likely to vote for the bipartisan deal, Democrats have acknowledged Reid is aiming to corner Republicans into either voting for the bill "” and thus limiting the impact of their energy attacks "” or scuttling it themselves.

All of the hard work done by the House Republicans and by many ordinary citizens who phone, wrote and cajoled their Representatives to get a straight up or down vote on drilling may be undone by the Senate Republicans. If the Senate Republicans aren’t careful, they may either get a bill that provides for no real increase in exploration or worse, get no bill and end up being pointed to as the reason that a bill wasn’t accomplished.

We need the Senate Republicans in the Gang of 1016 to back off their bill and stand for a straight up or down bill. The President, the House Republicans and most importantly, the American people support a straight up and down vote on drilling. Barring that, allow the moratorium to expire and let the Democrats machinate as the attempt to hide it in one of the budget authorizations that are now under a time constraint.

Oh, and lest you think that decreasing gas prices is taking the focus off this issue, the American people understand that increasing our energy production is ever more essential. Especially so in a world where the behaviour or one rogue nation can have serious implications on the cost and availability of oil. The American people now fully understand that oil is not just a pocket book issue, it is also a security issue.

We need to call, write and cajole the eight Republican Senators who are part of the gang of 10 16. If they don’t change their plan I’m afraid that at the end of this session the American People may well be saying “Missed it by that much!”

September 9, 2008

Drill Here, Drill Now Tuesdays – 9/9/2008

by @ 17:32. Filed under Energy, Politics - National.

This idea was started by Jessi at Wake Up America. It will appear here every Tuesday (whether I’m here or not; the only difference is I won’t be able to update the current gas price while on vacation) until Congress wakes up and allows a lot more domestic drilling (I’m not talking about just ANWR, or just off the Florida coast where Cuba, Red China and Brazil are preparing to drink our milkshake, or just the shale fields in the Rockies).

My Gas Price (south suburban Milwaukee County, Wisconsin): $3.799/gallon

America needs to drill here drill now. America is having a energy crisis, and we need to do something now!

Urge Congress to pass a bill to drill in America, where the United States has vast oil and gas resources onshore and offshore that are currently illegal to develop and therefore inaccessible.

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 38 billion barrels of undeveloped oil resources (19 billion barrels onshore and 18.92 billion offshore).

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 180 trillion cubic feet of undeveloped natural gas resources (94.5 trillion cubic feet onshore and 85.7 trillion cubic feet offshore).

Also…

CONGRESS RECENTLY VOTED TO MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO DEVELOP U.S. OIL SHALE RESOURCES

With oil prices at an all-time high, Americans are facing escalating gas, diesel, and aircraft fuel increases. Oil prices are projected to increase further.

Congress, however, has made it illegal to develop vast domestic oil resources in large parts of the United States.

The most startling Congressional prohibition on domestic oil production concerns the recently enacted ban on the development of oil shale resources in parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming in the Green River Formation. According to a Rand Study estimate, this reserve contains over one trillion barrels of oil, with 800 billion barrels fully recoverable, or three times the current oil reserves as Saudi Arabia.

If you haven’t already done so, first sign the petition to call for more drilling, and since Congress is finally back in session and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is supposedly going to allow a vote on something approaching max-drill along with the Democrats’ still-unfleshed plan to allow very-limted drilling in hurricane-prone areas in exchange for massive giveaways to the envirowhackos and a bailout of the Big 3 in Detroit, take a moment and tell your Congresscritter and Senators to drill, baby drill.

September 3, 2008

Talking to Four Year Olds – Energy Addition

by @ 5:31. Filed under Energy, Talking to Four Year Olds.

A good technique when working with four year olds, is to use “teachable moments.”   “Teachable moments” are not to be confused with disciplinary action required when your four year old has done something wrong.   Rather, a “teachable moment” general has nothing to do with your four year old.   It usually is an issue unrelated to your four year old, but is one that helps your four year think through something that may otherwise be a complex subject for them.

Today’s teachable moment has to do with energy production,  specifically, oil production.

Approximately 25% of our domestic oil production comes from drilling that is done in the Gulf of Mexico.

Do you know what happens to oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico when a hurricane, almost any hurricane comes across the Gulf?   Yup, oil rigs get shut down.   Maybe for just a few days, maybe longer.

Do you know what happens to oil rigs in the gulf of Mexico when a BIG hurricane, like Katrina or Rita come through the Gulf?   No, not environmental disaster.   These rigs have been built to put the safety of their crews and the environment first.   In fact, while there were about 13,000 barrels of oil that escaped as a result of the hurricane damage, the final study done for the MMS noted that there were no on shore impacts from any of the spills! Yes, that’s right, 25% of our oil production goes offline, some of it for several months.

Do you know which coastal state has never had a recorded hurricane?   Yes, Alaska has never had a recorded hurricane.   The waters around Alaska are too cold to allow one to form.

If you were going to increase oil drilling, would you increase it in the Gulf or would you go where hurricanes can’t strike?

Don’t quite get it?   Let me try another approach.

If you had $10 to bet on future energy would your rather:

A.  Bet it on the extreme long shot of “Alternative Energy?”…if you win, you win big.   If you lose, you’re screwed.

B.   Bet it on the choice sure to lose money;  just find ways to  use less

C.   Bet on a proven doubling of your money by increasing drilling and opening oil shale fields.

Good answer, now you’ve got it!

September 2, 2008

Drill Here, Drill Now Tuesdays – 9/2/2008

by @ 14:30. Filed under Energy.

This idea was started by Jessi at Wake Up America. It will appear here every Tuesday (whether I’m here or not; the only difference is I won’t be able to update the current gas price while on vacation) until Congress wakes up and allows a lot more domestic drilling (I’m not talking about just ANWR, or just off the Florida coast where Cuba, Red China and Brazil are preparing to drink our milkshake, or just the shale fields in the Rockies).

My Gas Price (south suburban Milwaukee County, Wisconsin): $3.759/gallon

America needs to drill here drill now. America is having a energy crisis, and we need to do something now!

Urge Congress to pass a bill to drill in America, where the United States has vast oil and gas resources onshore and offshore that are currently illegal to develop and therefore inaccessible.

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 38 billion barrels of undeveloped oil resources (19 billion barrels onshore and 18.92 billion offshore).

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 180 trillion cubic feet of undeveloped natural gas resources (94.5 trillion cubic feet onshore and 85.7 trillion cubic feet offshore).

Also…

CONGRESS RECENTLY VOTED TO MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO DEVELOP U.S. OIL SHALE RESOURCES

With oil prices at an all-time high, Americans are facing escalating gas, diesel, and aircraft fuel increases. Oil prices are projected to increase further.

Congress, however, has made it illegal to develop vast domestic oil resources in large parts of the United States.

The most startling Congressional prohibition on domestic oil production concerns the recently enacted ban on the development of oil shale resources in parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming in the Green River Formation. According to a Rand Study estimate, this reserve contains over one trillion barrels of oil, with 800 billion barrels fully recoverable, or three times the current oil reserves as Saudi Arabia.

If you haven’t already done so, first sign the petition to call for more drilling, then sign the one to get Congress back to DC so they can allow more drilling faster. Yes, Congress is back next week, but if my memory hasn’t failed me, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) plans on not allowing a clean vote on drilling.

August 27, 2008

Popular Mechanics – Drill now to bridge the gap

by @ 15:49. Filed under Energy.

(H/T – Glenn Reynolds via Sean Hackbarth)

James B. Meigs takes a critical look at energy policy in the October 2008 issue of Popular Mechanics (don’t ask me why magazines pre-date their issues that far in advance). While I want you to read the entire thing, I will give you the Cliff’s Notes version:

  • Do we really need an Apollo-style high-tax-subsidy energy plan? Meigs points out that the Apollo mission was a single, well-defined engineering challenge, while replacing oil (and potentially coal) in the energy infrastructure is multitude of changes affecting every aspect of modern life.

    Further, Meigs points out that the singular achievement of Apollo was followed up by the current state of NASA. Specifically, it spectacularily-failed in providing an affordable and reliable space vehicle.

  • We’ve had massive energy plans since the Nixon administration, most of which have been as spectacular a failure as the Shuttle. I must refute parts of the anti-coal argument; coal is a lot cleaner than it’s ever been, and I seem to have missed the mention of the lock-up of the clean coal in Utah done by Bill Clinton.
  • We need decades to get solar and wind on-line in any meaningful manner, and until then, we need the offshore oil and gas.

The folks at PM included a nice little graphic at the end of the online piece highlighting a few significant newer oil/natural gas finds, including a pair of finds in the Continental US.

August 26, 2008

Drill Here, Drill Now Tuesdays – 8/26/2008

by @ 10:04. Filed under Energy.

This idea was started by Jessi at Wake Up America. It will appear here every Tuesday (whether I’m here or not; the only difference is I won’t be able to update the current gas price while on vacation) until Congress wakes up and allows a lot more domestic drilling (I’m not talking about just ANWR, or just off the Florida coast where Cuba, Red China and Brazil are preparing to drink our milkshake, or just the shale fields in the Rockies).

My Gas Price (south suburban Milwaukee County, Wisconsin): $3.779/gallon

America needs to drill here drill now. America is having a energy crisis, and we need to do something now!

Urge Congress to pass a bill to drill in America, where the United States has vast oil and gas resources onshore and offshore that are currently illegal to develop and therefore inaccessible.

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 38 billion barrels of undeveloped oil resources (19 billion barrels onshore and 18.92 billion offshore).

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 180 trillion cubic feet of undeveloped natural gas resources (94.5 trillion cubic feet onshore and 85.7 trillion cubic feet offshore).

Also…

CONGRESS RECENTLY VOTED TO MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO DEVELOP U.S. OIL SHALE RESOURCES

With oil prices at an all-time high, Americans are facing escalating gas, diesel, and aircraft fuel increases. Oil prices are projected to increase further.

Congress, however, has made it illegal to develop vast domestic oil resources in large parts of the United States.

The most startling Congressional prohibition on domestic oil production concerns the recently enacted ban on the development of oil shale resources in parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming in the Green River Formation. According to a Rand Study estimate, this reserve contains over one trillion barrels of oil, with 800 billion barrels fully recoverable, or three times the current oil reserves as Saudi Arabia.

If you haven’t already done so, first sign the petition to call for more drilling, then sign the one to get Congress back to DC so they can allow more drilling faster.

August 21, 2008

Simple Does Not Equal Simpleton

by @ 5:17. Filed under Energy.

Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democrats have been telling us for weeks now that they don’t want to increase drilling because it won’t help reduce oil prices even if they did.   Amongst their favorite talking points is a US EIA report that stated that drilling in ANWR and generating 1,000,000 barrels of oil each day, would only reduce the price of a barrel of oil by $1.44.

At heart, I’m a very simple person.   While I will dig into the complex if necessary, I prefer to use the simpler answers to a problem.   I’ve had enough On the Job Training (OJT) for various life issues, that I think I can safely say that the answers to many issues lie right in front of my face if only I stop to look.   I think the same holds for oil pricing.

I won’t go into debunking how the Dems have used the EIA report, plenty of other folks have done so expertly so there’s no need to retread that ground.   Besides that, rebutting the EIA report requires a complex answer.   No, I found an explanation of oil pricing that is much simpler.

This morning, oil prices were headed north again anticipating that US inventories were going to increase about 1.7 million barrels.   Prices had moved from  just under  $115/barrel to over $116/barrel in anticipation of this report.   As has been happening a lot lately, the “Experts” were wrong in their estimates and inventories increased by 9.4 million barrels, a 7.7 million barrel difference.   Following the report, oil not only dropped below it’s opening price, it zipped right past it dropping $3 from its high.

The US uses about 20 million barrels of oil each day according to the EIA.   The “excess” inventory of 7.7 million barrels announced this morning, amounts to about 1/3 of a days need or .1% of the annual needs of the US.   If an increase in inventory of .1% of the annual US usage causes oil prices to drop by over $3 per barrel, does it make sense to you that producing the equivalent of 5% of the US needs (50 times more than the “excess” inventory)….OVER A LONG TIME, would only decrease the per barrel price by $1.44?

Nope, it doesn’t to me either.

August 19, 2008

Drill Here, Drill Now Tuesdays – 8/19/2008

by @ 16:49. Filed under Energy.

This idea was started by Jessi at Wake Up America. It will appear here every Tuesday (whether I’m here or not; the only difference is I won’t be able to update the current gas price while on vacation) until Congress wakes up and allows a lot more domestic drilling (I’m not talking about just ANWR, or just off the Florida coast where Cuba, Red China and Brazil are preparing to drink our milkshake, or just the shale fields in the Rockies).

My Gas Price (south suburban Milwaukee County, Wisconsin): $3.829 (same station as 2 weeks ago, only they gave up on the cash discount)

America needs to drill here drill now. America is having a energy crisis, and we need to do something now!

Urge Congress to pass a bill to drill in America, where the United States has vast oil and gas resources onshore and offshore that are currently illegal to develop and therefore inaccessible.

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 38 billion barrels of undeveloped oil resources (19 billion barrels onshore and 18.92 billion offshore).

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 180 trillion cubic feet of undeveloped natural gas resources (94.5 trillion cubic feet onshore and 85.7 trillion cubic feet offshore).

Also…

CONGRESS RECENTLY VOTED TO MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO DEVELOP U.S. OIL SHALE RESOURCES

With oil prices at an all-time high, Americans are facing escalating gas, diesel, and aircraft fuel increases. Oil prices are projected to increase further.

Congress, however, has made it illegal to develop vast domestic oil resources in large parts of the United States.

The most startling Congressional prohibition on domestic oil production concerns the recently enacted ban on the development of oil shale resources in parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming in the Green River Formation. According to a Rand Study estimate, this reserve contains over one trillion barrels of oil, with 800 billion barrels fully recoverable, or three times the current oil reserves as Saudi Arabia.

If you haven’t already done so, first sign the petition to call for more drilling, then sign the one to get Congress back to DC so they can allow more drilling faster.

It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Dies!

by @ 5:46. Filed under Energy.

Barack Obama and his ilk think the way to solve our energy problems are to increase the pressure in our tires and  demand higher fuel efficiency in cars.   Included in this strategy conserving our way to energy independence would be using vehicles that are smaller, lighter, maybe single passenger…..like a motorcycle.

Monday’s Star and Tribune  puts a bit of a wrinkle into Obama’s energy plan.   Just a few weeks back  the greenies were trumpeting that car deaths were down as a result of higher gas prices. Now we’re hearing that motorcycle deaths are up in Minnesota because….more people are riding them because of high gas prices!

Sales are GRRRRRRREAT!

“Ours [sales] will double from last year,” said Hedstrom, owner of Scooterville Minnesota, a small-bike dealership at Cedar Avenue and Interstate 94 in Minneapolis.

But the consequences aren’t

Motorcycle fatalities hit a low of 2,116 nationwide in 1997. Since, they have risen 128 percent. Their share of crash fatalities has jumped to almost 13 percent from 5 percent.

Admittedly, the information is only through 2007 and while gas prices did spike over $3 a couple of times last year, it didn’t take it’s permanent place until the spring. Additionally, the article is focused on us “lost youth” guys for the increase of motorcycles.

That all said, if “conserving our way to energy independence” is the strategy, you can bet there will  be more and more motorcyles being ridden by young and old alike. With deaths per 100 accidents nearly 8X that for motorcycles over all other vehicles, well, that’s a trend that’s going in the wrong direction.

How long before we’ll hear cries for increased crash survivability standards for motorcycles?

August 12, 2008

Drill Here, Drill Now Tuesday – 8/12/2008

by @ 6:56. Filed under Energy.

This idea was started by Jessi at Wake Up America. It will appear here every Tuesday (whether I’m here or not; the only difference is I won’t be able to update the current gas price while on vacation) until Congress wakes up and allows a lot more domestic drilling (I’m not talking about just ANWR, or just off the Florida coast where Cuba, Red China and Brazil are preparing to drink our milkshake, or just the shale fields in the Rockies).

My Gas Price (south suburban Milwaukee County, Wisconsin): Unknown (I’m on vacation)

America needs to drill here drill now. America is having a energy crisis, and we need to do something now!

Urge Congress to pass a bill to drill in America, where the United States has vast oil and gas resources onshore and offshore that are currently illegal to develop and therefore inaccessible.

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 38 billion barrels of undeveloped oil resources (19 billion barrels onshore and 18.92 billion offshore).

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 180 trillion cubic feet of undeveloped natural gas resources (94.5 trillion cubic feet onshore and 85.7 trillion cubic feet offshore).

Also…

CONGRESS RECENTLY VOTED TO MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO DEVELOP U.S. OIL SHALE RESOURCES

With oil prices at an all-time high, Americans are facing escalating gas, diesel, and aircraft fuel increases. Oil prices are projected to increase further.

Congress, however, has made it illegal to develop vast domestic oil resources in large parts of the United States.

The most startling Congressional prohibition on domestic oil production concerns the recently enacted ban on the development of oil shale resources in parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming in the Green River Formation. According to a Rand Study estimate, this reserve contains over one trillion barrels of oil, with 800 billion barrels fully recoverable, or three times the current oil reserves as Saudi Arabia.

If you haven’t already done so, first sign the petition to call for more drilling, then sign the one to get Congress back to DC so they can allow more drilling faster.

August 8, 2008

Pelosi Russian Roulette

by @ 5:26. Filed under Energy.

A couple of days ago, Politico.comreported that while Nancy Pelosi was not going to allow a vote on expanding drilling, she was giving dispensation to her followers to campaign on expanded drilling…of course knowing that it would never happen:

But what looks like intraparty tension on the surface is part of an intentional strategy in which Pelosi takes the heat on energy policy, while behind the scenes she’s encouraging vulnerable Democrats to express their independence if it helps them politically, according to Democratic aides on and off Capitol Hill.

So I’m wondering…how to ferret out the truly converted from the convieniently converted? Simple!

If a Representative Dummycrat claims they are converted on drilling ask them if they’ve signed on to the discharge petition.

A discharge petition allows legislation to bypass committees, in essence bypassing Nancy’s stonewalling, and move directly to a floor vote. A discharge petition only needs a simple majority of Representatives signing on to enact it.

The last time I looked, most if not all of the Republicans had signed on but few if any Democrats had. If all of the Republicans sign up we would only need 17 Democrats to sign on to get a vote on drilling. I’ll be generous and say there are a few ultra RINOS so maybe we need 25 Democrats. Seems like a whole lot more than that number have been chatting up their support of drilling while back home on their recess.

I like to call this “Russian Roulette, Pelosi style.” If a Democrat wants us to believe they now support drilling, they sign the discharge petition. They only get one try. If they don’t sign, there’s no truth in their statement.

How many do you think will “pull the trigger?”

When Did the Definition of “Comprehensive” Become “Stupid?”

by @ 5:00. Filed under Energy.

Of all the cliches uttered by political types, the one that causes me to scream “NOOOOOOOOOOOO” immediately upon hearing it is the word “Comprehensive.”

Just like how the word “Progressive” has become code for

“I’m a leftist who hates America but I can’t get elected if I say that,”

the word “Comprehensive” has come to mean,

“legislation that will be portrayed as addressing something America needs but will really be a bamboozling of the American people because we elected officials are much smarter than you!”

You doubt me? Think back over the past couple of years of how “Comprehensive” has been used to sell some of the most misrepresented legislation….

Comprehensive Immigration Reform – this wasn’t immigration reform, this was amnesty. John McCain and Bill Clinton can argue over the definition of “amnesty” but we all know it was and as written, it had little to do with reform.

Comprehensive Mortgage Reform Package – This didn’t “reform” mortgages, it wrote them off and bailed them out!

And the latest: Comprehensive Energy Plan.

A Bipartisan (there’s another word that doesn’t mean what you think it does. Bipartisan now means a Dummycrat idea that includes a few rotting carrots to get a few Rinos to go along,) committee has proposed an energy package that they are labeling “comprehensive” with the suggestion that it has the solutions for our energy problems. you can read the press release here.

There are some good things in here:

  • It does authorize additional leasing of offshore areas,
  • it allows federal agencies to contract for synthetic or alternative fuels
  • it requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Defense to get their act coordinated so that the Federal government doesn’t get in the way of offshore leasing.

And that’s where the comprehension ends.

Amongst the non comprehensible parts of the bill are:

  • There is no legislative mandate to prevent the nuisance lawsuits that will slow and bring to reality Obama’s claim that we get no oil from new drilling for at least ten years
  • There’s no increased authorization for nuclear plants even though the plans set aside an estimated $130B for Carbon Capture/Sequestration and Nuclear Waste storage.
  • While it opens drilling outside of 25 miles it does not even allow the states to open up the area inside of the 25 mile limit.   Worse, the states can veto drilling from 25 to 50 miles.   Can anyone see an oil rig once its 25 miles offshore?

But, perhaps the most offensive is taking a projected $260B of leasing revenues and use it for the Environment Restoration Reserve. “What the heck is that,” you ask?

The Environment Restoration Reserve offsets the cost of legislation enacted after the date of the enactment of the National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act to conduct restoration activities to improve the overall health of the ecosystems primarily or entirely within our wildlife refuges, national parks, lakes, bays , rivers and streams with emphases on the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake, Delaware and San Francisco Bay/Sacramento San-Joaquin Bay Delta, the Florida Everglades, New York Harbor, Colorado River Basin and Intercoastal Waterways and adjoining inlets.

What the hell has any of that to do with energy production in America? Why wouldn’t that money go to the general fund to reduce the debt? Or maybe, if you wanted to maintain the new definition of “comprehensive” and lie to the American people, put the money into the Social Security trust fund? You remember that other issue that needs a “comprehensive” solution right?

The next time you hear someone in Washington, or your state capital, saying they have a “comprehensive” solution, grab your wallet, hold your spouse and family near and check your ammunition level. It’s a sure bet that any “comprehensive” solution is going to impact at least one of those three!

August 5, 2008

Drill Here, Drill Now Tuesday – 8/5/2008

by @ 6:56. Filed under Energy.

This idea was started by Jessi at Wake Up America. It will appear here every Tuesday (whether I’m here or not; the only difference is I won’t be able to update the current gas price while on vacation) until Congress wakes up and allows a lot more domestic drilling (I’m not talking about just ANWR, or just off the Florida coast where Cuba, Red China and Brazil are preparing to drink our milkshake, or just the shale fields in the Rockies).

My Gas Price (south suburban Milwaukee County, Wisconsin): $3.849/gallon cash // $3.909/gallon credit for regular unleaded

America needs to drill here drill now. America is having a energy crisis, and we need to do something now!

Urge Congress to pass a bill to drill in America, where the United States has vast oil and gas resources onshore and offshore that are currently illegal to develop and therefore inaccessible.

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 38 billion barrels of undeveloped oil resources (19 billion barrels onshore and 18.92 billion offshore).

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 180 trillion cubic feet of undeveloped natural gas resources (94.5 trillion cubic feet onshore and 85.7 trillion cubic feet offshore).

Also…

CONGRESS RECENTLY VOTED TO MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO DEVELOP U.S. OIL SHALE RESOURCES

With oil prices at an all-time high, Americans are facing escalating gas, diesel, and aircraft fuel increases. Oil prices are projected to increase further.

Congress, however, has made it illegal to develop vast domestic oil resources in large parts of the United States.

The most startling Congressional prohibition on domestic oil production concerns the recently enacted ban on the development of oil shale resources in parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming in the Green River Formation. According to a Rand Study estimate, this reserve contains over one trillion barrels of oil, with 800 billion barrels fully recoverable, or three times the current oil reserves as Saudi Arabia.

If you haven’t already done so, first sign the petition to call for more drilling, then sign the one to get Congress back to DC so they can allow more drilling faster.

August 2, 2008

And here comes the flop on Obama and drilling

by @ 19:12. Filed under Energy, Politics - National.

(H/T – Owen)

Remember when Barack Obama said he would support the “Gang of 10″‘s plan to potentially open up drilling off of the coasts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia? CNN reports the clock has just struck midnight on that statement:

“I made a general point about the fact that we need to provide the American people some relief and that there has been constructive conversations between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate on this issue,” he said during a press conference in Cape Canaveral.

“What I will not do, and this has always been my position, is to support a plan that suggests this drilling is the answer to our energy problems,” Obama added….

Just in case you don’t think this is a full flip-flop, CNN also included some previous comments on offshore drilling in the story:

“When I’m president, I intend to keep in place the moratorium here in Florida and around the country that prevents oil companies from drilling off Florida’s coasts,” Obama told reporters in Jacksonville in late June. “That’s how we can protect our coastline and still make the investments that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and bring down gas prices for good.”

As the vacationing Jim Geraghty says, “All statements by Barack Obama come with an expiration date. All of them.

Revisions/extensions (7:20 pm 8/2/2008) – I added some explanation to prove that it is a full flip-flop from Obama. I wonder what the Obamination Express runs on; I sure hope it isn’t a petrochemical, because it sure seems to be doing a lot of u-turns and back-ups.

[No Runny Eggs is proudly powered by WordPress.]