I am not minimizing the non competitive nature of energy markets. The issue is the policies that we can make and pursue. We cannot stop Iran from agreeing to sell China oil below market prices. We can oppose Iran for its terrorist support and nuclear ambitions. Please indicate the policies that we should support given the non competitive nature of the energy market and the danger of rogue states like Iran.
Lets leave aside externalities. That would take me a day
Internally we need serious Federal support for clean Western coal development programs and more. Coal is our salvation from foreign oil suppliers
IOW Jimmy Carters pessimism was correct. We should strive for energy independence. We have lots of clean coal to develop. Look at Canada. It's an energy superpower today with no trade deficit. Canada dollar now equals the US dollar. Even though they are socialist today's oil/energy prices wash away their sins &stupidity
We should be shooting for 80-90% energy independence instead of trusting Arabs and Hugo Chavez
The news today is that world oil production has peaked; even though OPEC could possibly increase production they aren’t planning to do so.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/25/markets/oil_record/index.htm
Oil prices have gained nearly 30 percent in the last month and more than quadrupled since 2002. Analysts say surging global demand combined with limited new supply is the main underlying factor.