The Solution to the Energy Crisis is Right Here

Crisis Magazine ^ | 05/27/2011 | Mark W. Hendrickson

[GonzoII]

The Solution to the Energy Crisis is Right Here

Mark W. Hendrickson

 

Saudi Arabia has long been the dominant producer of petroleum on the planet. Nature endowed the Arabian Peninsula with gigantic deposits of this vital source of energy. Many of us have lamented the quirk of nature that placed much-needed oil in the most geopolitically unstable region in the world.

Although Saudi Arabia is the king of oil producers at present, there is another country that has far more extensive deposits of fossil fuels. Because fossil fuels are the most economical and reliable energy sources known to man, the country that has the largest share of them is fortunate indeed. What is this richly endowed country? It is none other than the United States of America.

Perhaps you have heard the United States described as “the Saudi Arabia of coal.” Actually, that may be an understatement, for while the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the Saudis have 20 percent of the world’s known petroleum reserves, the United States has an even larger share—27 percent—of the world’s known deposits of coal. As engineers continue to develop more and more “clean coal” technologies, this abundant resource will continue to serve our energy needs for as long as we need it.

In addition to our immense coal deposits, the United States contains gigantic natural gas deposits. Currently, the United States ranks fourth in natural gas production, but domestic reserves are soaring as horizontal drilling and “fracking” tap the mind-boggling dimensions of the natural gas fields located here in Pennsylvania (the Marcellus formation), Louisiana (the Haynesville formations), and elsewhere across the lower 48. If fracking can be done without contaminating precious water supplies, it is possible that the United States may also become “the Saudi Arabia of natural gas.”

There is even more good news: Besides being the Saudi Arabia of coal and potentially natural gas, we may become the next “Saudi Arabia” of oil. This won’t be the light, sweet crude that the Saudis pump at little cost and with relative ease, but it’s oil nonetheless. The Green River shale rock formation under just three of our states—Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah—is estimated to hold 1.8 trillion barrels of oil, about seven times as large as the Saudis’ crude oil reserves.

Beyond the vast petroleum deposits in the Green River formation, we have the Bakken field in North Dakota and Montana, where ever-more reserves are being found, the untapped deposits in Alaska, the continental shelf, and other existing fields in the lower 48 states. Add to those immense reserves yet-to-be-discovered petroleum deposits and technological improvements, such as those that improved recovery rates from 20 percent to 35 percent of oil deposits in recent years (yes, that means that most of the oil is still there), and you can see that the prospects for domestic oil production are mind-boggling.

Ours is a case of geological good news and political bad news. We have under our feet the world’s greatest treasure trove of energy supplies. The bad news is, we have a president and a party that have made it their full-time policy to obstruct, thwart, and forbid extraction of those immense resources, while encouraging other countries to drill, drill, drill.

We have all that we need, friends. We just need the freedom to go get it.

COPYRIGHT 2011 THE CENTER FOR VISION & VALUES

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Mark W. Hendrickson Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson is an adjunct faculty member, economist, and fellow for economic and social policy with The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College.

[GonzoII]

Just imagine if we could get to it all.

[rockvillem]

We just need the freedom to go get it.

And that my friends is the problem. Team Obama and their fellow travelers want to make darn sure that we DON'T have that freedom. They react to individual freedom like a vampire does to a cross.

[Red Badger]

Imagine no liberals........
It’s easy if you try.................

[Brookhaven]

Do we actually have an energy “crisis”?

We’ve been talking about the energy crisis since the mid-1970s—35 years. Is a crisis that lasts 35 years really a crisis?

The left uses the term crisis as an excuse to push through its plans. Hey, would we really be pumping zillions of dollars into alternative energy if there wasn’t an energy crisis?

[DTA]

The Oil is abundant. The places where it could be drilled easily are not.

Generally, they share the same latitude between 10'N and 23' N.

[paul51]

No, no , no. We can't use that. We are going green. We can't have an energy policy based on a stable supply of plentiful, inexpensive energy. Not only would that be an unfair advantage to the rest of the world, we have to have expensive, limited energy so the gov’t can control our movements and liberties easier.

[American Constitutionalist]

" Ours is a case of geological good news and political bad news. We have under our feet the world’s greatest treasure trove of energy supplies. The bad news is, we have a president and a party that have made it their full-time policy to obstruct, thwart, and forbid extraction of those immense resources, while encouraging other countries to drill, drill, drill.

We have all that we need, friends. We just need the freedom to go get it. "

Imagine that, we have Obama and his Democrat Party, and the Meanie Greenie Environmentalist deliberately starving our economy and starving real people of food because they refuse to let us drill for oil on our own soil.
Just imagine the economic rebuilding that could happen in this country if we were allowed to drill and use our own energy reserves.
Obama and the Democrats, along with the Meanie Greenies have sabotaged our country and the American economic power in this country.....

It's time to take our country back from these commies...

[American Constitutionalist]

Imagine how plentifully amount of energy we would have if the liberals were not using it up.... yes, the dirty real truth is that liberals use up just as much energy as the rest of us do.
Do you think Liberals are going to actually give up with wealthy life style of them driving their BMW's ? Porsche's ? Mercedes Benz's ? Audi's ?
Do you actually think the liberals are going to give up their nice heated homes and luxury resorts in the winter time while they go Skiing in Colorado ? ....
The dirty truth is ? the Liberals are not going to give up their wealthy life style and live in the cold so that us poor folk can buy cheap gas for our cars and cheap heating oil for our homes just to survive the winter.

[EQAndyBuzz]

I fully believe that God gave us all the sources of energy to power the planet.

Satan gave us the environmentalists.

God gave us animals to sustain the population with protein, skin for clothing and shelter.

Satan gave us PETA.

God created woman to be mans companion and to procreate.

Satan gave us NOW.

God gave us free will.

Satan gave us the Democrat party.

God

[American Constitutionalist]

" I fully believe that God gave us all the sources of energy to power the planet.

Satan gave us the environmentalists.

God gave us animals to sustain the population with protein, skin for clothing and shelter.

Satan gave us PETA.

God created woman to be mans companion and to procreate.

Satan gave us NOW.

God gave us free will.

Satan gave us the Democrat party.

God "

LOL !!!

What was it that , that one women who once was on the show " THE VIEW " said about her old co-hosteses ? .... Satan's Daughters ?

The NOW gang ? ... i.e. NAGS ....
Well, the NOW NAGS are daughters of Satan because they are in open rebellion to God, the Bible, and family.

The NEW WORLD ORDER folks ? and the Globalist ? ... well guess what ? there is a New King coming to Earth and he is going to set up his own NEW WORLD ORDER in his time and in his way and there is nothing that these NWO and Globalist can do about it... as a matter of fact ? you ? I ? other Christians are going to be given power and authority to judge them..... and guess what ? I already pronounce them GUILITY !

God commanded us to subdue this world and take Dominion over all of it... and that is what we are going to be given power to do.... Christ was meek and lowly in heart, and we are joint heirs with the son,,,, and the meek shall inherit this Earth after God does a rework of it.

Forget the New World Order folks, and the Globalist..... we are the Dominion Takers..... and God will give us power to rule and have power over this Earth as Jesus Christ AS KING !

This world's system and the NWO folks, and the Globalist days are coming to a close and there is going to be a great battle over this Earth... and guess what ? WE WIN IN THE END !!!

NWO folks ? Globalist ? time to pack your bags and GET OUT ! your going to be kicked out by the KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS !

[American Constitutionalist]

Remember ? this Earth is rightfully ours... for God has given us the deed to this Earth.... it's the devil, the NWO folks, the Globalist who have stolen it away from us....
Jesus Christ said in the Lord's prayer " THY KINGDOM COME , Thy will be DONE here on Earth as it is in Heaven " ....

It's time to take Dominion of this Earth for the Great King is coming.

Actually ? the Liberals, the NWO folks, and the Globalist are trespassing on what God has given us.... they are illegal trespassers... as far as God is concerned, they have no legal right to tell us what to do... they are the ones who are trespassing illegally...

[Quix]

We have MORE than 400 years worth of oil reserves even projecting increased demand.

[Quix]

That is, if we lived off our own oil alone, . . .

We have MORE than 400 years worth of oil reserves even projecting increased demand.

[Sequoyah101]

My eyes glazed over about the time I read “Green River” formation. Yes, there is kerogin there and yes, we know ways to get it to become oil but the energy, the water and the techniques are all more than most would ever conceive. Maybe eventually but we should be on to something else by then.

[Paladin2]

It’s a price problem.

[GonzoII]

"The Oil is abundant. The places where it could be drilled easily are not."

I think it would be worth the effort to get at it.