Senator McCain's speech at the Republican Convention was well crafted and extremely effective. It contained all of the buzzwords and warm and fuzzy things carefully designed to inspire, but short on meaningful substance. It was designed to provoke a great emotional response that his heroism and courage compensated for flawed proposals, questionable Senate votes and failed solutions. Senator McCain's experience should not obscure his platform that will not serve America well in the future.
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The Senator's speech was intended to appease Big Energy, not provide real solutions. "Drill, Drill, Drill" is not a solution, but more of how we got here, regardless of lofty rhetoric.
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Derrick Z. Jackson's comments address the fallacies of nuclear energy as a solution, excerpted here, but worth the read in their entirety:
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The Department of Energy recently announced that the estimated cost of dealing with the waste of existing nuclear power plants has risen in the last seven years from a prior guess of $57.5 billion to $96.2 billion.
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Progress Energy Florida announced a proposed rate increase of 31 percent, in part to pay for two new nuclear reactors, which will cost an estimated $17 billion.
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Florida Power & Light followed up this week with a proposed 7 percent increase,....
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The only way to furnish this empty house is through massive taxpayer subsidies. The once-moribund US nuclear industry has been reenergized from $13 billion in federal subsidies and $20.5 billion in loan guarantees in recent years. But the industry wanted $50 billion in guarantees.
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Other information has been posted about the flaws of Nuclear Energy that make nuclear energy no longer cost effective. The capital markets are NOT investing in nuclear plants with good reason. And that's before we un-mask the charade that it takes decades to construct a nuclear plant.
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Of the "Drill, Drill, Drill" hype:
At the top of this site is a Search Blog feature that allows a search of topics, for instance OIL DRILLING.
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The following quotes were plucked from that search:
.“I think this is a very shortsighted approach to put our economy at risk for oil drilling along the coast when we all know that the first drop of oil wouldn’t even come for ten years,” Sink said. CNBC
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Off Shore Drilling: Are Americans Being Snookered?
Wind is already more competitive than electricity generated from new nuclear and coal-fired power plants.
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Oil companies currently have 5,500 offshore leases they are not drilling, and with 80 percent of the untapped oil in offshore areas already open to development, they do not need access to more areas to increase supply.
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Newsweek in McCain's Power Outage
Of offshore oil drilling:
...something that takes 22 years to deliver significant results hardly qualifies as a "short-term"
solution.
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Tight supply + high gas prices = good times for Big Oil.
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Same reason why oil companies don't invest in more refineries.
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Not because of environmental standards, as they typically complain about. But because they're not interested in increasing supply, driving prices down and reducing their profits. The National Resources Defense Council explains: "...refiners reap higher profits when capacity is tight, so they actually have a disincentive to significantly expand production. In fact, oil executives have stated that the reason they did not expand refining capacity in the 1990s is that the low profitability of the business did not justify the investment."
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Same reason why oil companies aren't drilling in all of the 68 million acres of federal space for which they already have leases. As Sen. Joe Biden recently noted in a Wilmington News Journal op-ed:
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First, the oil companies in this country now hold 7,000 leases to drill offshore, yet only 20 percent of those leases are producing oil. That is 68 million acres for which they already have the rights to drill. Nearly 80 percent of our offshore oil is already available for leasing -- approximately 54 billion barrels total. They could be drilling in these areas, but they are not.
First, the oil companies in this country now hold 7,000 leases to drill offshore, yet only 20 percent of those leases are producing oil. That is 68 million acres for which they already have the rights to drill. Nearly 80 percent of our offshore oil is already available for leasing -- approximately 54 billion barrels total. They could be drilling in these areas, but they are not.
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As authoritative sources published informed comments that provided reasonable arguments about our energy solutions, it was my attempt to post as many as possible.
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Apollo Alliance offered:
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September 5, 2008:
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It even includes the Boston Globe article in which the Town of Carver proposed solar panels along a state highway:
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The town of Carver will ask state officials to consider its proposal to install a solar panel array along Route 44 to provide electricity for a town water-supply system. If the plan goes through, it would be the first time a state highway has hosted a solar power installation.
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Boston Mayor Meninno announced Lights out, conservation on for city's tall towers .
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Even NYC Mayor Bloomberg is moving forward, according to NYT (emphasis mine):
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In a plan that would drastically remake New York City’s skyline and shores, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is seeking to put wind turbines on the city’s bridges and skyscrapers and in its waters as part of a wide-ranging push to develop renewable energy.
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The plan, while still in its early stages, appears to be the boldest environmental proposal to date from the mayor, who has made energy efficiency a cornerstone of his administration.
The plan, while still in its early stages, appears to be the boldest environmental proposal to date from the mayor, who has made energy efficiency a cornerstone of his administration.
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The mayor’s plan includes the widespread use of solar panels, possibly on the roofs of public and private buildings. One proposal is to allow companies to rent roofs for solar panels and sell the energy they harvest to residents.
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The city is already using tidal turbines under the East River that provide energy to Roosevelt Island. That technology could be widely expanded under the mayor’s proposal.
The city is already using tidal turbines under the East River that provide energy to Roosevelt Island. That technology could be widely expanded under the mayor’s proposal.
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There are viable options available now that are excluded from Senator McCain's plan that deserve serious consideration.
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5 comments:
This is going to be the bigest issue because it causes or solves all others be they ecanomic, security, terorism, envirenment. MCain is a disapointment because of his wilingness to sell out to get the christian vote, the same people who spread rumers by pushpoling about him.
How does this square with the rest of his platform? Try attacking that.
Derick Jacksin provided a cogent argument beyond the whiteness and wealth of the current party. I've voted Republican in the past, but there moving further to views that are unacceptable.
Pickens plan seemed to make sense to me. He's an oil man who says don't drill. This makes no sense to me.
If the oil companies paid for the leases they already have, wouldn't that make them drill?
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