Energy Myths

This article, appearing in TomDispatch, just released, contains pertinent comments that help de-bunk the 'Let's Keep Drilling' myth.

This should confirm to a layman our dilemma:

A mere glance at the oil production table of the authoritative BP Statistical Review of World Energy -- published annually -- shows declines in such non-OPEC countries as Britain, Brunei, Denmark, Mexico, Norway, Oman, Trinidad, and Yemen. Over the past decade, oil output in the U.S. has declined from 8.27 million barrels per day (bpd) to 6.88 million bpd.

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Oil from tar sands and other marginal sources of difficult to extract oil have been touted by some as the solution, in spite of the environmental consequences:

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The exploitation of the much-vaunted tar sands of Canada -- expected to cover the global shortfall -- only helped to raise that country's output from 3.04 million bpd in 2005 to 3.31 million bpd in 2007, a mere 10% in two years.

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Although I disagree with the author's recommendations, statements about American energy consumption and the vast potential for conservation have been raised by many others:

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When it comes to energy conservation, there is a far greater opportunity for saving in the affluent societies of the West than anywhere else in the world. An average American uses twice as much oil as a Briton, a Briton twice as much as a Russian, and a Russian eight times as much as an Indian. It was therefore perverse of U.S. energy secretary Sam Bodman to focus on the way the Chinese and Indian governments subsidize oil products to provide relief to their citizens -- and to urge their energy ministers to cut those subsidies to "reduce demand."

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Since the US has 5% of the world's population and consumes 25% of the world's resources, there seems to be plenty of room for reduction.

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Of US pain at the gas pumps:

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....instead of urging Americans to cut oil usage (and putting a little legislative heft behind those urgings), politicians of both parties are blaming soaring gas and diesel prices on "speculators," conveniently ignoring how thin a line divides "speculators" from "investors."

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Of Japan (emphasis mine):

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In Japan, on the other hand, the government and private companies have stayed on course since the First Oil Shock. Despite the doubling of Japan's gross domestic product during the 1970s and 1980s, its annual overall levels of energy consumption have remained unchanged. Today, Japan uses only half as much energy for every dollar's worth of economic activity as the European Union or the United States. In addition, national and local authorities have continually enforced strict energy-conservation standards for new buildings.

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It is, again, Japan that has made significant progress when it comes to renewable sources of energy. By 2006, for instance, it was responsible for producing almost half of total global solar power, well ahead of the U.S., even though it was an American, Russell Ohl, who invented the silicon solar cell, the building block of solar photovoltaic panels, which convert sunshine into electricity.

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By electing oil men and those easily persuaded by generous campaign contributions, we have allowed the rest of the world to lead in alternative energy technology and energy efficient solutions and more importantly, jobs.

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It appears the Japanese will lead in cars because Detroit was content to continue to pump out the gas guzzlers. Maybe Big Oil can bail them out. Or maybe we can wake up to the bill of goods we accepted.

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