Our
economy is starved for energy because this administration has blocked the
development of domestic sources of energy in order to promote its expensive and
bankrupt green energy in the name of environmental and social justice that the
left is pushing so vehemently.
A
barrage of unnecessary and costly regulations has driven up gas prices to more
than double since Obama became President. The Keystone XL pipeline would have
removed the uncertainty of future supplies that affect energy prices. Sadly, Canadian
oil will not be flowing to the United States via the Keystone XL pipeline, but
to the port of Vancouver, to be shipped via oil tankers to China.
Releasing
energy from the strategic petroleum oil reserves is not a good idea since it would
increase further market price volatility and uncertainty. Such reserves would
only prop up supply for a short time, and it would not significantly reduce the
price of gas to make a difference at the pump.
The
Obama administration has hindered domestic energy production at every turn,
starting with the oil-drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico. Brazilians were
allowed to drill and store oil in the deep ocean of the Gulf of Mexico but not so
much for domestic producers.
With
gas $6 per gallon in some parts of the country, Secretary of Energy Chu, who
admittedly does not own a car, stated that the Department of Energy goal is to
strengthen the economy and decrease our dependence on oil. Yet in 2008, Secretary Chu said, “Somehow we
have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels of Europe.”
His solutions include green energy projects like Solyndra solar panel plant, harvesting
algae as a replacement for oil, the electric Chevy Volt that nobody wants to
buy in spite of the $10,000 subsidy, and the very expensive Tesla electric car that
turns into a “brick” when the battery drains completely.
Candidate
Obama promised that under his presidency gas prices will sky rocket and anyone
who will build a coal-fired plant will go bankrupt. His supporters were too
busy with “hope and change” to pay attention when he promised to “fundamentally
transform” this nation.
As
this administration states publicly that it is “boosting domestic production
onshore,” new leasing on federal lands is down 44 percent, and the number of
new oil wells drilled is down 39 percent. The President says that new offshore
areas are opening, but his latest plan keeps 87 percent of these areas off
limits. Claims that oil and gas activity in the Gulf of Mexico is back to
normal are contradicted by a forecasted drop in production this year of nearly
21 percent from 2010 levels. (Speaker Boehner’s Office)
“House
Republicans have passed several bills that would eliminate the Obama’s
administration barriers to American energy production and move the Keystone XL
pipeline forward,” but were defeated in the Senate.
All
the anti-domestic energy policies of this administration are lovely music to
the leftist environmental movement’s ears. However, they are never satisfied;
their demands are more and more aggressive.
According
to the Washington Post, drivers must be forced to bear the true economic cost
of their choice to drive. It is not enough that we pay $4-6/gallon for gas that
cost $1.79 when Obama took office. A federal carbon tax must be imposed on all
of us who drive to the grocery store instead of biking, walking, or taking
public transit.
“Perhaps
fewer people would drive if we reattached costs to driving that are now being
offset by non-drivers.” The author is incensed that people like him, who make
sacrifices for the planet by biking to his favorite store, have to pay for our
“free” parking via higher grocery prices.
Although
Whole Foods encourages customers to “go green,” other “grocery chains like Stop
and Shop, Giant, Safeway, Price Chopper make deals with gas stations that give
customers per gallon discounts when they purchase a certain amount of
groceries.”(Washington Post)
“Environmentalists
and those who cannot afford to drive end up making it easier for other
customers to shop by automobile.” It boils down again to social justice, the haves
and have-nots. The author must not have or feed a family of four. How much
groceries can one carry daily on a bicycle? Then again, logic is not the strong
suit of progressives. Extreme environmentalism looks good on paper, not so much
in practice.
Most
Americans care for their environment and do not wish to destroy it. Regressing
humanity and de-grow developed nations economically to primitive life styles in
order to satisfy the goals of the Sierra Club crowd or other like-minded
environmentalists is not the majority’s idea of living.
Last
time I checked, most food is trucked by 18-wheelers that burn expensive Diesel
fuel. Food is priced according to the delivery distance, the amount of fuel
burned, production costs, and supply and demand.
Fuel
and Diesel prices are driven up on purpose by our “environmentally appeasing”
President, to the point that the rental price for the parking lot becomes an
insignificant portion of the total operating cost of a grocery store vis-à-vis
the inflationary cost of energy and food. Some grocery stores own the land and
the costs of the parking lot are sunk over many years of operation.
The
author is angry that his biking sacrifice for the planet is nullified by “Range
Rover drivers” who do not care about their waistlines, wallets, and “ultimately
for the Earth.” He laments, “Why should my bike subsidize your car?”
Liberal
environmentalist know-it-alls are not subsidizing our cars. We pay road taxes
and high gas prices, which include gas taxes. Should we tax bicyclists for
using the paved roads freely while they are a nuisance to those who paid the
road tax?
No
matter what we do, the lack of a sane energy policy and constant class warfare from
the left are going to bring about conflict between outlandish environmentalists
and average Americans who wish to live in a free country with choices offered
by the free market and not choices dictated by omnipotent few who want to
control the entire population under the false premise of protecting the planet.
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