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Our Self-Created Energy Problem
IBD Editorials ^ | February 19, 2009

Posted on 02/19/2009 5:02:08 PM PST by Kaslin

Energy: President Obama was in Canada on Thursday for a visit that made oil producers there nervous. Americans should be a bit anxious, too, as this administration considers curbing a vital domestic source of power.


Canada, rarely thought of as an oil-rich nation, is in fact awash in crude. Indeed, it is America's primary source of imported oil. The province of Alberta alone holds 173 billion barrels of crude. Some government analysts say that's enough to supply U.S. petroleum needs for 24 years.

This Canadian crude doesn't gush from the ground. The tarlike oil is mixed with sand and has to be extracted using heat. The process emits more carbon dioxide that conventional drilling.

Environmentalists, who've yet to see any oil they like, consider it dirty oil. A Sierra Club official hysterically calls tar sands the "dirtiest form of energy in the world."

James Hansen, the NASA scientist who is chiefly responsible for the global warming scare and is never shy about embellishing, suggests that continued production of Canada's tar sands "would be disastrous for life on our planet."

Obama has said the tar sands can be made clean. But that's not enough to relieve worried tar sand producers. He has taken a hard line on carbon emissions and publicly lamented "that oil sands create a big carbon footprint."

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


TOPICS: Canada; Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: bho44; bhocanada; bhoenergy

1 posted on 02/19/2009 5:02:08 PM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

We have got to cut the government down to size NOW!


2 posted on 02/19/2009 5:05:23 PM PST by screaminsunshine (f)
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To: Kaslin

I think the entire north coast of Canada is awash in oil. The only problem is extracting it. Ditto for the north coast of Russia.


3 posted on 02/19/2009 5:11:21 PM PST by Citizen Tom Paine (Swift as the wind; Calmly majestic as a forest; Steady as the mountains.)
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To: Kaslin
Obama wants to replace coal fired generation with wind generation. Folks, that will not work.

Wind generators do not operate when there is too much wind, they shut down. They do not generate when it is too cold with freezing rain. They not generate when it is too hot, they shut down when the temps are 104 degrees.

If you want to feel good about buying “green energy” and paying more for it, here is your sign.

Shutting down coal and relying on Wind will make America a third world nation in two months. Maybe that is what the chosen one wants.

4 posted on 02/19/2009 5:16:12 PM PST by hadaclueonce (< Patching a tire ....)
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To: Kaslin

Nobody will ever see this but here it is anyway.

Canadians, where does BO get off telling you how to manage your industries?

Do you like this?


5 posted on 02/19/2009 6:45:16 PM PST by Sequoyah101 (Get the bats and light the hay)
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To: Sequoyah101

BO. A country has found it’s idiot.


6 posted on 02/19/2009 7:46:18 PM PST by hadaclueonce (< Patching a tire ....)
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To: hadaclueonce
Obama wants to replace coal fired generation with wind generation. Folks, that will not work.

Any idiot would have figured this out. Well, almost all idiots would have.

7 posted on 02/19/2009 7:50:12 PM PST by Red Steel
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To: hadaclueonce

Yeah cars don’t work when it is too cold either. Also, it is a real pain to go out and crank the lizzy besides.

Oh wait, technology has advanced since then.

When did conservatives stop believing in American innovation capacity?


8 posted on 02/20/2009 3:23:29 AM PST by Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit (Yup, yup, sometimes it is nice to go a few days without having to hear from Gov. Palin, you betcha)
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To: Kaslin

From everything I’ve read, extracting oil from tar sands isn’t easy, it is messy, requires heat and water for extraction, and is costly to refine.


9 posted on 02/20/2009 5:43:25 AM PST by FBD (My carbon footprint is bigger then yours)
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To: Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit

“When did conservatives stop believing in American innovation capacity?”

I will believe in innovative capacity as soon as you find me a place to store Wind Generation for when it is needed.

Use the electricity to make hydrogen, compressed air or a giant battery, I do not care.

YOUR feel good wind generation in Texas is more of a burden than an asset.


10 posted on 02/20/2009 2:00:28 PM PST by hadaclueonce (< Patching a tire ....)
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To: hadaclueonce
I will believe in innovative capacity as soon as you find me a place to store Wind Generation for when it is needed.

How about in the battery of your plug-in Hybrid. Imagine all Americans plugged in their cars at night. Since most drives don't use the full battery, they could park near a charger which went both ways. When the wind blew at night, it would charge the cars. During the day when they were parked at work, they could feed "sell" electricity back when it was needed for industry. The driver (and for that matter the car) would naturally have a decent idea of how far it had to drive home that day and be prepared.

Also, fridges could be programmed to go on and be fully cooled (or charged like a battery) at night. Thus during the peak morning electricity surge, no fridges compressors would go on.

Does all of this require new infrastructure - yes. It is incredibly expensive or technically impossible - absolutely not. It would also create jobs in America.

11 posted on 02/22/2009 5:53:14 AM PST by Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit (Yup, yup, sometimes it is nice to go a few days without having to hear from Gov. Palin, you betcha)
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To: Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit

I agree. Lead the way.


12 posted on 02/22/2009 9:02:25 AM PST by hadaclueonce (< Patching a tire ....)
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