Posted on 06/25/2021 8:21:07 AM PDT by Starman417
In his brilliant book, The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, Matt Ridley makes the case that coal saved Britain in the 19th century just as the Industrial Revolution was picking up steam. A similar argument could be made for oil in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At mid century, a time when oil from whales was a significant source of energy, the discovery of seemingly limitless amounts of oil in places like Pennsylvania and Texas provided an energy boom like the world had never seen. In the quarter century between 1864 and 1892 the price of oil dropped by more than 90% while production increased 25 times, providing a boost that turned the American economy into a juggernaut.
Of course from soot in the air to spills in the water to holes in the ground, neither resource is what today one might call “clean” energy. But you know what they were? Inexpensive, efficient and relatively easy to transport. Indeed, by the 1880’s the average family was illuminating their home for a penny an hour while the fuels to do so, oil and kerosene could be delivered right to their doors. From lighting individual homes to powering giant factories – which would have been largely impossible without it – petroleum and its various products gave Americans the energy necessary to grow from an economic also ran to the most robust economy on the planet in less than half a century.
America of the late 19th century and early 20th century was a land of giants where anything was possible. During the 60 years between 1865 and 1935 Bell invented the telephone, Ford brought the assembly line to auto manufacturing, and the Wright Brothers took to flight while at the same time the First transcontinental railroad was finished and the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building were built. The United States was growing, both geographically and economically and energy fueled that growth, and increasingly that was oil.
Energy drives modern civilization, whether its gasoline for cars, electricity for countless mobile devices or natural gas and coal fueling generators. Americans used to recognize the fact that without fuel, little functions in America. The lesson was painfully driven home in 1973 with OPEC’s oil embargo.
Today, 50 years later, while less dependent on OPEC for our energy needs, overall we’re far more dependent on energy itself as our much of our lives are driven by transportation, information and consumption. But the funny thing is, the more energy becomes central to our lives, the less serious Americans become about it. Nuclear power, by far the most efficient, cleanest and most abundant of potential sources has basically been sidelined, with not a single new plant being built in a quarter century and 13 plants closed. Coal plants are being regulated out of existence while blue states and the Biden administration are seeking to smother fracking in its bassinette. Not to mention one of Joe Biden’s first acts after taking office… shutting down the Keystone pipeline. At the same time, from the federal government to local governments, billions of dollars are being wasted on the fiction of “green energy”, both in terms of tax incentives, regulatory vices and “investment” boondoggles. These are just the latest examples of the left literally wasting energy and money – and doing much harm in the process – all in the name of the “environment”.
Why does any of this folly matter? Because geopolitics is a messy matter, and everything from money to trade to weapons to war play a central role in it, and energy is central to each of them. More specifically, the United States is in the midst of a pitched battle for prosperity and influence around the world with other players who have decided to not fight that battle with both hands tied behind their backs. On the contrary, not only do China and Russia do essentially whatever they want as it relates to – pretty much everything – but at the same time, both (China, Russia) fund the environmental left in the west, resulting in the ludicrous Paris Climate Agreement. That is the agreement, of course, in which the west – and particularly the United States – willingly put a straightjacket on their economies while the Chinese economy is allowed to operate essentially unfettered for decades while the Russians pay lip service to the agreement.
Both the Chinese and Russians understand that energy is the key to power and are willing to operate on that basis, unburdened by the need to appease the world’s environment scolds.
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
Americans are; it’s the liberal left and Demon-rats that are not.
Liberals have trivialized EVERYTHING and they have brought US political discourse down to the most idiotic and mindless level!!
Don’t believe it? Just look at what is important to them and listen to them speak!
bump
In the 1800s the Opium trade helped Britain a lot too...
Energy IS the economy. Energy surplus, and thus energy density, is the only thing which can drive economic productivity. One barrel of oil contains something like 5 years of human work-energy, and uranium is even more dense.
Wind and solar, as of now anyway, are far less dense sources of energy.
Following the logical conclusion of the green political sloganeering would make us all far poorer, less healthy, and shorten human lives.
“green political sloganeering would make us all far poorer, less healthy, and shorten human lives.”
That’s the goal. The more honest of them will come right out and say it.
L
Whale oil is a renewable, carbon-neutral bio-fuel.
Still hit and run spamming?
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The American people have no idea of how critical the oil and gas industry is to our economy.
It is no overstatement to say that the oil and gas developments, especially the development of fracking, have been driving our and propping up the economy of the country.
It is literally the foundation that Trump built his MAGA recovery on.
We have went from energy independence and becoming an oil exporting country under Trump to a country that is importing oil from Russia
under Biden
The leftists could not advance their insanity without the assistance of Assistant Democrats wearing R jerseys.
A lesson we didn't learn from how they forced the Chinese to import it which damaged China's society, while we are no longer even putting up a fight on our southern border against Chinese made fentanyl (and COVID).
I read last week something like 250 coal plants are being built in China and India RIGHT NOW and another 900 are on the drawing boards.
The author wrote “neither resource [oil and coal] is what today one might call “clean” energy.” This is pure BS. With emission controls, they are very clean. It is only if you consider CO2 as a pollutant that they are dirty.
But lots of analyses have shown the overall carbon lifecycle emissions for solar, wind, and fossil fuels are identical.
Y’all can say, “it’s the liberals!”, yet I do not and have not seen y’all serious enough, to outright rid the nation of their blight. Yrs, I mean y’all complain, whine, argue, and bellow, in your circles. Whhen a liberal stands up and spews, you turn away, silent. Y’all ALLOW THEM SPACE TO POISON AND DO NOTHING.
Where are the Arya Starks when they are needed????
Reality, sooner than later, will get its revenge.
Our former wealth has allowed us to afford a certain amount of delusional fantasies. That will soon come to a end.
“Our former wealth has allowed us to afford a certain amount of delusional fantasies. That will soon come to a end.”
Yes, I figure the Harris-Biden administration is where we will start to run out of “other people’s money,” as Maggie so aptly put it.
Yup. “You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.” When the most important thing in a man’s life is pretending he’s a little girl, we have a long way to go to get back there.
Good Read thanks for the insight.
America has always been an idealistically naive country.
It still is.
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