Be careful what you wish for. You might get your wish.
Wall Street Journal, Feb 1, 2022:
"In addition to the austerity pledges companies have made to shareholders, oil companies are under pressure from climate activists and environmentally-minded investors to invest less in production."
Of course gasoline prices are high. Oil prices are high.
Democrats concerned about greenhouse gases ought to be thrilled gasoline prices are high. The best signal to Americans to conserve on transportation fuels is to make them more expensive. People will drive less, bicycle, use mass transit, and buy more fuel efficient vehicles.
Some university endowments announced divestments from fossil fuel companies, a public gesture of disapproval. Some climate activists took the opposite tack and used their ownership of oil companies shares to get board seats and make change from the inside. Exxon now has three board seats controlled by an activist hedge fund. They urge Exxon to reduce exploration and redirect itself toward renewables.
Oil companies hear the political signals: Don't explore and produce so much. Meanwhile they are getting a similar signal from financial markets. Use "capital discipline," i.e. cut exploration expenses. U.S. drill rig counts are a third of what they were eight years ago. Wall Street investors are wary that oil companies will once again overcommit to production.
So now, demand is up as the world's economy rebounds out of the COVID austerity. Then take Russian oil out of the mix. Prices are up and so are profits.
There is oil available here in the USA. Our country can be energy independent, if we want to be. In the 1970s our foreign policy and economy was deeply distorted by our dependence on foreign oil from the Middle East. We are reminded of that peril by watching European countries trying to unwind their dependence on Russian oil. We have significant deposits of oil in Alaska and throughout mid-America. We have been drilling oil in the Permian Basin for a century and keep finding more there.
I mention this not to praise fossil fuels nor to minimize their effect on CO2 levels and climate. My purpose is to acknowledge that Americans are making a choice. We have the oil. High gasoline prices don't "just happen." They are the result of a mixture of intentions and policy, including those made by the people who are likely to pay the highest political price for their decisions: Democrats.
High energy costs are a significant factor in the cost of everything. The inflation of the 1970s came when OPEC raised oil prices. The low inflation of the recent past was helped by the unusually low price of oil. Low prices sent a signal to American consumers to relax their worry about gas mileage. All this was good for the economy generally and bad for oil companies. It made consumers happy, but it hurt the environment. Now the world has turned.
Democrats have a problem. People are unhappy about inflation generally and higher gasoline prices in particular. Democrats made a policy and messaging choice. Democrats urge a rapid switch away from fossil fuels, and that message came faster than has development of price-competitive alternatives. "Drill, baby drill," is a Republican chant, not a Democratic one. Democrats are conspicuous for stopping pipelines, ending drilling on federal land, and attempting to outlaw fracking.
The parties made their choices. Choices have consequences. High gasoline prices may help to save the planet but voters aren't connecting the dots between gasoline and hurricanes, droughts, forest fires, and smoke. They see the price of gasoline and blame Democrats. A Democrat who can make the oratorical case for sacrifice now for a better climate tomorrow may be able to reduce the political cost. It may be impossible. People want things cheap and we want it now. JFK said Americans would
"pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty."
That may not be who Americans are anymore.
[Note: To get the blog by email go to https://petersage.substack.com The blog is free and always will be.]
7 comments:
JFK said Americans would
"pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty."
That may not be who Americans are anymore.
I think that is still who we are. But the red and the blue disagree strongly on the definition of “liberty.”
Polls and forecasts today indicate that Democrats are going to get "wiped-out" in the November 2022 Congressional elections, and IMHO, they deserve it. Democrats have a SLIM margin in Congress today, yet they act like they have a HUGE mandate in order to change society at any cost, and to change our economic system (and destroy capitalism). What Chutzpah! And what arrogance, too.
The majority of Americans don't want what the progressives are feeding us, and Democrats will pay the price in November. Inflation destroys the lower and middle economic classes. The basic necessities of life become unaffordable. Inflation doesn't affect the rich elite, who are behind this manipulation. They can afford it. Inflation destroys the little people, and not them.
For you climate extremists; if every person and every business in Oregon quit existing today, then there would be NO change in the climate. NONE! In other words, whatever you are doing today, it's NOT affecting the climate. It's all a scam perpetrated by progressives in order to gain power and control.
Progressives need to enjoy their ride today, because they'll be decimated in the November elections. Democrats are destroying society, and people have become aware of it, and now Democrats will pay for their sins. Expect it, unless they cheat again.
Curt Ankerberg
Medford, OR
Note: The comment purporting to be from "Curt Anbkerberg" may or may not be from the Medford-area person who is locally known as an office seeker named Curt Ankerberg. This blog is subject to spoofers who use other people's names in comments, some of which are obscene and contain libelous accusations. Do not assume that the author of any comment that does not contain a photograph and identification of the author is in fact by that person. Be warned.
JFK, Johnson, Carter, Obama, Biden all focused on policy to make the lives of all Americans better. GHW Bush to some degree should be in that group. But the current crop of Republicans don't give a damn about America only wresting power for themselves to dole out goodies to THEIR friends and kin. We now have a solid (stultified) group of Republican obstructionists hellbent on doing nothing. The GOP should be ashamed to even appear in public but we now know they feel no shame for the harm they're causing the average American.
Imagine where this country would be if we'd listened to and acted on Jimmy Carter's policy recommendations on renewable energy? We could have lead the way into a bountiful and prosperous future for all of us. Europe now is facing the same dilemma we were in 1973 only much more dire with the treat of Russian aggression resuming theater warfare in Europe.
“Democrats urge a rapid switch away from fossil fuels, and that message came faster than has development of price-competitive alternatives.”
Not true. If we factor in the costs from the catastrophic effects of climate change, and we’d be idiots not to, then any alternative is price competitive.
Peter,
If you hypothetically ate 100 lbs of beef and 100 lbs of chicken every year, and I outlawed the consumption of beef (and no pork or fish), then I had better have 200 lbs of chicken available to you to eat to compensate for my beef ban, and to properly feed you. (You need 200 lbs of meat to eat in whatever form).
Let's apply that to automobiles. Right now, the Oregon power grid is maxed-out. We are on the verge of brown-outs, while California does experience some brown-outs. On top of that, Kate Brown wants to eliminate coal-powered electric plants, and she wants to close-down the Hermiston coal-powered electric plant. I believe that coal makes-up MORE than one-third of the power generated in Oregon. Democrats want to eliminate that coal power, which will reduce electric supplies by more than one-third. That's where we are going to be in a couple of years, before even considering cars. We're going to have an electricity shortage based on current needs.
Now, the Democrats want to eliminate petroleum-powered vehicles, and only use electric cars. Yet, they are not compensating for their petroleum ban. They'll need even more electricity.
My question to you is if we can't even fully-power households today, then what makes you expect that we can power households PLUS automobiles in the future with a greatly-reduced power supply?
Democrats don't want nuclear power either, so where is your power coming from? How are you going to meet the demand? Are you going to institute massive rationing? Windmills and solar won't provide enough energy. If you think that's possible, then you are massively delusional (like Democratic leadership is). The Democrats want to put you back in the stone-age in a hut. You've seen the Rogue Retreat homeless garden sheds that have no power or plumbing? That's your future under Democrats.
Curt Ankerberg
Medford, OR
(Yes...this is me. I've been to Peter's house once, and we sat in his den). :>)
Like it or not, Curt is right.
There is simply not enough power generating capacity to power those EV goals.
Add to that, there aren’t enough charging stations or places along streets near apartments to charge vehicles for those without garages. Sure, they may have designated parking spaces in a complex, but not every apartment cluster even provides a parking place.
Lots of development is required, and that simply is not happening.
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