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Obama energy options may be long wait: Technology costly, scarce
The Washington Times ^ | May 13, 2009 | Amanda DeBard

Posted on 05/13/2009 4:33:59 AM PDT by Scanian

President Obama's plan to move quickly to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources relies on technology that analysts agree is neither affordable nor available on a commercial scale and won't be for many years to come.

Expensive, small-scale pilot projects are under way that convert vegetation into fuel for cars and capture carbon dioxide before it is released into the air from coal-burning power plants. But these prototypes have not been proved at levels that would make even a dent in the U.S. appetite for fossil fuels, casting doubt on the viability of the president's plans.

Still, the administration continues to promote policies that assume that these pilot programs will soon become large-scale projects and is seeking funds to bring that day closer.

"It's promoting a vision that no one knows what the true cost will be and [whether] these technologies will succeed on a large scale," said Bryan K. Mignone, a climate and energy analyst at the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution.

"The administration wants a solution fast to the technology problems," said Nathaniel Greene, director of renewable-energy policy for the Natural Resources Defense Council

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 0bama; 0bamaisfailing; agenda; atlasshrugged; bho44; bhoenergy; bigteapartyjuly4; biofuels; buygoldnow; buygunsnow; carboncapture; donttreadonme; drillheredrillnow; idiocracy; ignoranceisstrength; madashell; newnuclearnow; nocapandtrade; renewableenergy; second100days; solarinmojave; time2partyagain; whatthehell

1 posted on 05/13/2009 4:34:01 AM PDT by Scanian
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To: Scanian

The problem that these nitwits are unwilling to face is this:

These so-called renewable/green energy sources are UNSTABLE.

Oil is a stable energy source.

Just a couple of days ago, a ship running on “green” energy had to be rescued at sea by an OIL TANKER.


2 posted on 05/13/2009 4:37:35 AM PDT by Daisyjane69 (GO CAVS !!!! No Cleveland championship since 1964. I'm not getting any younger!)
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To: Scanian
"Right now, there is no incentive for companies to invest in these technologies because it's free to pollute," Mr. Weiss said. "Once you put a price on carbon, it creates an economic incentive not to put pollution in the air."

or just pass the cost on to consumers who will either swallow this liberal crap or cut back.

3 posted on 05/13/2009 4:43:45 AM PDT by Need4Truth (More Freedom, Less Government)
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To: Scanian
"It's promoting a vision that no one knows what the true cost will be and [whether] these technologies will succeed on a large scale,"

Welcome to obambi's Great Leap Foward,

straight out of Mao's little red playbook.

4 posted on 05/13/2009 4:48:29 AM PDT by spokeshave (USA #1; Pirates -3)
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To: Daisyjane69

Of course their “energy future” worldview makes no sense, but it never had to: do not underestimate the overwhelming degree to which they have only seized upon this alternate energy scenario MERELY BECAUSE THE OTHER SIDE WANTS US TO DRILL FOR OUR OWN OIL. That is IT. THere is no other rhyme or reason to it, and it has parallels everywhere in domestic and foreign policy postures. They seek to capture the “alternate audience”, and present some “new, fresh approach to problems” that is only that , an APPROACH. NOT a solution.


5 posted on 05/13/2009 4:49:20 AM PDT by supremedoctrine (The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity---Yeats)
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To: Scanian
"It's promoting a vision that no one knows what the true cost will be and [whether] these technologies will succeed on a large scale,"

Obama's 'vision' has nothing to do with energy technologies. His vision is about destroying free market capitalism, redistributing income/wealth on a grand scale, and creating a permanent underclass of democrat voters.

6 posted on 05/13/2009 4:57:16 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.)
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To: Scanian

Algae is the answer for biofuels, certainly not FOOD. It grows on accident, after all, and it’s full of oil.

Having said that, the government needs to stay out of the market and let things emerge on their own. And that includes writing laws which favor and protect certain established industries and corporations over newer, better, more efficient ones.


7 posted on 05/13/2009 4:57:58 AM PDT by ovrtaxt (We are not to expect to be translated from despotism to liberty in a feather bed. -Jefferson)
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To: supremedoctrine

Do you ever feel like you are surrounded by people who are insane? Because I do. Quite a bit, in fact.

The nanosecond that Bush lifted the ban on drilling for oil last summer began the drop in oil prices. Remember that? I heard tonight (Lou Dobbs or someone, I can’t remember) says that oil prices have risen 40% this year. Or maybe gas prices. Again, I can’t remember.

That said, this administration has taken EVERY source of energy off the table, except for the “green” technologies.

Now, please tell me how we operate these green cars that run on electricity, WITHOUT A STABLE ELECTRIC SOURCE?

The first time he said it, I thought he was nuts. But the second time Mark Levin said “What are we supposed to do, go around with those little caps with operating little propellers on top” in order to generate the power to operate our cars!

No kidding!


8 posted on 05/13/2009 4:57:58 AM PDT by Daisyjane69 (GO CAVS !!!! No Cleveland championship since 1964. I'm not getting any younger!)
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To: Scanian

I doubt whether Obama can spell science or technology. Obama is so scientifically illiterate that he cannot possibly distinguish good science from bad science.


9 posted on 05/13/2009 4:58:33 AM PDT by monocle
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To: Scanian

Alternative Energy=Arab Oil

Pray for America


10 posted on 05/13/2009 5:00:27 AM PDT by bray (SarDate.2012)
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To: Scanian

We have wind technology attached to our grid...and for an extra FEE each month, you can select wind as your source. And I waqnt to pay extra to this MONOPOLY, why??


11 posted on 05/13/2009 5:00:37 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: Daisyjane69

Everybody is clueless and nothing will change until they see the consequences of what liberal polices will bring. Oil prices will sky rocket with the combination of inflation and world demand.

One thing you have to say is every single on of the policies the Democrats are encouraging is increasing our dependence on foreign oil. They will not let us harvest natural resources or let us produce freely and this is why we are dependent on other countries.


12 posted on 05/13/2009 5:07:21 AM PDT by Cheap_Hessian
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To: Cheap_Hessian

If one didn’t know better, it’s hard to see what the Dems would be doing differently, in order to turn this into a banana republic.

Seriously.


13 posted on 05/13/2009 5:09:21 AM PDT by Daisyjane69 (GO CAVS !!!! No Cleveland championship since 1964. I'm not getting any younger!)
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To: monocle

What you said cannot be repeated enough, my FRiend.

I’m simply astonished (as are you, I suspect) that this crowd doesn’t understand the 4th grade science experiment that proves ice doesn’t displace water. Al Gore’s entire theory rests on this. His thing is that, as the glaciers melt, the world will flood. LOL

What a dumbass.


14 posted on 05/13/2009 5:13:52 AM PDT by Daisyjane69 (GO CAVS !!!! No Cleveland championship since 1964. I'm not getting any younger!)
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To: Scanian
President Obama's plan to move quickly to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources...

Odd way to begin it, by defunding our only real atomic waste facility...

15 posted on 05/13/2009 5:19:20 AM PDT by 50sDad (The mainstream media is the only watch dog that decides what it is going to bark at.)
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To: Need4Truth
"Right now, there is no incentive for companies to invest in these technologies because it's free to pollute," Mr. Weiss said. "Once you put a price on carbon, it creates an economic incentive not to put pollution in the air."

Another false premise stated as if it was fact. Carbon = pollution. (Just like they did with "global warming")

16 posted on 05/13/2009 5:21:04 AM PDT by CPOSharky (Zero: I don't care about the country as long as I'm in charge. Forever.)
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To: Scanian
"The administration wants a solution fast to the technology problems," said Nathaniel Greene, director of renewable-energy policy for the Natural Resources Defense Council

I don't know what Nathaniel Greene's background is, but this whole approach indicates a complete misunderstanding about how innovation (and especially technology leaps) occurs. It generally is NOT a result of throwing money at seed companies. More often, it is a moment of inspiration in the shower, or discovering something interesting while investigating something else (like WD-40). In my opinion, government financed "research" retards advancement rather than accelerates it. Securing the grants becomes the job, rather than actually producing a product....

hh
17 posted on 05/13/2009 5:23:40 AM PDT by hoosier hick ((I'm back to..) Note to RINOs: We need a choice, not an echo. (Barry Goldwater))
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To: Cheap_Hessian
Things will change when an average member of the sheeple (probably and Obama voter) is personally impacted not only in their wallet as you suggest but also when they are hit with energy rationing. The day will come when that person won't be able to gas up at the local filling station when they want, or have electricity when they demand it (i.e., the “smart grid”, which is code for electricity rationing). When that happens, there will be a great deal of weeping and wailing and whining, and maybe, just maybe (by no means assured) that the sheeple will wake up and elect someone other than liberals. But even then things won't change right away because of the time lag in bringing in replacement sources of energy.
18 posted on 05/13/2009 5:24:40 AM PDT by chimera
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To: Daisyjane69

Don’t make the assumption that they are telling you what their actual goals are.

Yes, this DOESN’T make sense if you think that they are actually looking for a PLENTIFUL source of “green” energy.

It DOES make sense if the goal is to have you freezing in the dark and dependent on the gov’t for your life requirements.


19 posted on 05/13/2009 5:25:36 AM PDT by MrB (Go Galt now, Bowman later)
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To: monocle

Obama is a classic techno-geek “wannabe.” His reliance on the teleprompter, Blackberry, “I do email”, etc. are really funny, because the people that are impressed are just as scientifically challenged as he is....

hh


20 posted on 05/13/2009 5:25:52 AM PDT by hoosier hick ((I'm back to..) Note to RINOs: We need a choice, not an echo. (Barry Goldwater))
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To: Daisyjane69

The only leg they have to stand on as far as “ocean levels rising” is if some of that ice is resting on land. But from what I remember, the north pole has no land to speak of, and the ice is actually GROWING at the south pole.


21 posted on 05/13/2009 5:27:46 AM PDT by MrB (Go Galt now, Bowman later)
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To: Daisyjane69
I’m simply astonished (as are you, I suspect) that this crowd doesn’t understand the 4th grade science experiment that proves ice doesn’t displace water. Al Gore’s entire theory rests on this. His thing is that, as the glaciers melt, the world will flood. LOL

Floating ice, as in the north polar ice cap, will not raise sea levels if it melts.

Ice on land. glaciers and most of the ice on Antarctica, would raise sea levels if melted.

But that ain't gonna happen anyhow. It's all scare mongering.

22 posted on 05/13/2009 5:29:04 AM PDT by CPOSharky (Zero: I don't care about the country as long as I'm in charge. Forever.)
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To: hoosier hick

I suspect he looks down on those having scientific backgrounds. Obama’s obsession with electronic devices is more a sign of his immaturity than anything else. Obama is the classic example of Winston Churchill’s warning of those over thirty being liberal.


23 posted on 05/13/2009 5:44:34 AM PDT by monocle
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To: Scanian
The one green energy that holds tremendous promise, particularly out wet is Binary Geothermal.
24 posted on 05/13/2009 5:49:00 AM PDT by SC DOC
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To: Scanian

The key to meeting future energy requirements is dilithium crystals!!


25 posted on 05/13/2009 5:55:49 AM PDT by DustyMoment (FloriDUH - proud inventors of pregnant/hanging chads and judicide!!)
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To: Scanian

Obama’s green plans will take 1-2 decades to go online. Meanwhile in 1-2 MONTHS we will likely have $100 oil again, at a time when Obama’s Energy Secretary Salazar is shutting down U.S. drilling everywhere he can. Not a very pretty picture.


26 posted on 05/13/2009 6:05:38 AM PDT by FreepShop1 (www.FreepShop.com)
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To: Scanian

I actually think that energy independence is the only urgently needed thing for the obama administration to do. If they achieve that, there’s a chance they won’t bankrupt the economy.

I also think that there’s a chance they can actually accomplish this chore. They won’t get energy independence in four years. But they will get enough biofuels on the market to first cap the price of oil.

High oil prices strangle the economy.


27 posted on 05/13/2009 6:20:51 AM PDT by ckilmer (Phi)
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To: ckilmer

again, people make the assumption that 0bama wants a good economy and a thriving energy industry

and this is probably a bad assumption.


28 posted on 05/13/2009 6:22:27 AM PDT by MrB (Go Galt now, Bowman later)
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To: Need4Truth
"Right now, there is no incentive for companies to invest in these technologies because it's free to pollute," Mr. Weiss said. "Once you put a price on carbon, it creates an economic incentive not to put pollution in the air."

Mr. Weiss was "polluting" when he spewed this opinion. CO2 is NOT a pollutant, regardless of the opinion of environazis, bureaucrats and goobermint stooges wanting to control us.

29 posted on 05/13/2009 10:32:59 AM PDT by jimt
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To: jimt
Global warming is a farce ! The factual data in this novel easily demonstrates it. This whole bag of "green" crap is nothing more or less than a grab for power. Which we ought to resist. Crichton "State of Fear"
30 posted on 05/13/2009 10:41:16 AM PDT by jimt
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To: Daisyjane69

This Administration recognizes they have limited time to peddle their alt energy/global warming/carboncrap-cap’n trade junk science, so they’re ratcheting up the urgency, just like they did for the first bailout over 6 months ago/
They all ought to be in jail as conspirators in the biggest political scam pulled on the American voter. And they KNOW they don’t have ANY of their ducks in a row. Electricity indeed for electric cars......they would have to admit that doesn’t exist....just yet......but let’s get the ball rolling and bankrupt ourselves in the pursuit of this good green technology, because it’s the right thing to do. By printing money so your grandchildren will be paying for this folly, they’re positing that by the time THAT eventuality rolls around , it won’t be folly, but a triumphant Alternative Energy America. These are by far the most massive , overreaching plans ever even PROPOSED by anyone in politics, and they are going to be a slow-motion disaster every day , every week, every month from here on in. Something’s gotta give.


31 posted on 05/13/2009 5:00:52 PM PDT by supremedoctrine (The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity---Yeats)
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