Don't Give Up on Energy Independence

[question everything]

Don't Give Up on Energy Independence
By ROBERT MCFARLANE
May 7, 2008; Page A17

(snip)

Three factors have driven the increase in the price of food. The first is greater foreign demand. China and India are importing record amounts of coarse grains to feed growing populations and livestock. In the U.S., however, even after accounting for corn devoted to ethanol production, we produced 17% more corn food product and exported 23% more food product in 2007 than 2006.
The second factor is reduced supply. Serious drought conditions among traditional suppliers – especially Australia – have reduced supplies in the global marketplace and stimulated speculation in futures markets.
The third factor is energy costs. By far the greatest contributor to higher food prices has been the run-up in the price of oil, which impacts every stage of food production.

(snip)

Fortunately, we have the means to relieve this strategic vulnerability. There are four policy measures to alleviate this threat and in the process lower the global price of oil and dramatically reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases:

- Accelerate the introduction of second-generation biofuels (e.g. cellulosic ethanol and methanol) which don't rely on any food crop as feedstock, and should not require any government subsidy.
- Establish an Open Fuel Standard. That is, require that any automobile sold in the U.S. be a flexible fuel vehicle capable of burning gasoline, methanol, ethanol or any combination of the three – a feature that costs just $100 per vehicle.
- Accelerate the production of plug-in hybrid-electric cars and trucks.
- Introduce the use of lighter, stronger carbon composite materials, as Boeing is doing in the new 787 Dreamliner aircraft, into the production of cars and trucks. A Pentagon study a few years ago concluded that this step alone could reduce our oil imports by 48%.

(snip)

We must not let this national debate be distorted by charges that one is either pro- or anti- oil. I believe strongly that Western oil companies ought to be supported in the production of as much oil as they can, for as long as they can. Reducing our reliance on foreign oil is, however, an urgent national security priority.

Mr. McFarlane served as President Reagan's national security adviser.


URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121012141199772495.html

[kristopher]

1. Mr McFarlane is an idiot who needs to gain a better understanding

Mr McFarlane is an idiot who needs to gain a better understanding of the reality of Global Warming. His 'proposal' is an invitation to disaster.
The best route to energy security and regional food self-sufficiency is to transition to a global renewable energy infrastructure with biofuels playing a limited role.

[OmahaBlueDog]

2. I would add "replace oil, and then coal burning electric plants with wind ASAP"

It's technology that exists right now. Huge windfarms could be built here in the Midwest. Don't take my word for it; ask Boone Pickins.

[valerief]

3. Move to Iceland. nt

[losthills]

4. We need to outlaw ethanol.

And ban the internal combustion engine.

[spag68]

5. ban the internal combustion engine?

Sounds a little goofy to me. The engines can be made to run clean as possible until something better comes along.
Even then when we all have better transportation devices, I still want to take out a big horsepower car on a cruise on friday night. You don't want me to give that up, do you?

[kristopher]

6. You aren't familiar with battery electric, are you?

Perhaps you're kidding, but in case you're not, I don't think you're going to find that you are giving up the feel of "a big horsepower car". They are well known for having performance specs that are second to none.

[Doctor Cynic]

7. So what do we do with the heavy metals inside batteries?

Answer that question.

I've been to places in China where e-waste is dumped. They don't need more of it.

[kristopher]

14. Are lithium and silicon heavy metals? nt

[The2ndWheel]

8. There is no such thing as energy independence

And solar and wind won't decrease the power of energy organizations. Unless the whole globalizations project is thrown away, but that's not why we're trying to think up ways to harness solar and wind energy.

[phantom power]

9. It's pretty much a given that we're going to be energy independent...

before all this is over. Export collapse is going to guarantee our energy independence. The more interesting question is what that's going to look like.

[The2ndWheel]

10. Yeah, but that still won't be "independence"

As long as we still have to eat and drink at least every once and a while, energy independent we will not be. That's why each time we improve our ability to harness and extract energy from the environment, we increase our impact on the environment.

We've gone from live energy(hunting for animals, and gathering berries), to dead energy(coal, oil, etc) which helped increase our ability to create live energy through agriculture and livestock(if you can call whatever lives inside factory farms life), and now we're going to want to go to the energy that helps regulate the planet(biofuels, solar, wind, etc).

Your interesting question is a good one though. That is the question of questions. The prognostication of prognostications.

[phantom power]

12. Hmm. My understanding of "energy independence" is...

that it means "independent of foreign suppliers of energy." That's what politicians mean when they throw the term around. And usually the subtext is even more specific, something like dogwhistle for "independence from OPEC and all those damned A-rabs and banana republics."

But I certainly agree that there is no such thing as independence from energy, in a thermodynamic sense.

Kauffman's proposal for a definition of life: An autocatalytic system capable of performing at least one thermodynamic work cycle.

[predfan]

11. I got some freight into my business the other day by truck..........

the driver had 28 stops on his trailer ( upholstered furniture) and had bought $2700 in fuel at that point in his deliveries, had another few stops after me.

Soon all coast to coast freight will be sent by rail ( remember Warren Buffet and the rail stock he bought up?) and then distributed by much smaller trucks.........delivery times will change, but we'll just have to get used to it.

Average folks like us can't change the national trends, only those which we can change within our own sphere of influence. Then, eventually, the big ship will start to turn. Starting in November, hopefully.

[Javaman]

13. energy Independence is an amusing term...

the US is basically a vine let to grow wild. it's covering everything and has gotten into every crack.

What we are attempting to do is prune back the vine, when in reality it needs to be cut at the root.

but alas that won't ever happen.

So as a result our "energy Independence" will come when oil becomes so expensive or none available that we will be forced to become "energy independent".

there are so many things that we could be doing, but are not. As a result, by hook or crook, it will happen whether or not we do something.

The end I see to the vine gone wild will be a lack of water (oil) that will dry it up and kill it.