Posted on 02/08/2007 7:35:28 PM PST by Kitten Festival
Energy: Could lowly switch grass mow down the petropower tyranny of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez? A U.S.-Brazil ethanol pact signed this week may supply the fuel to do just that.
Chavez's hostile anti-American dictatorship grows worse as his oil earnings pile up. With the U.S. as his best customer, buying about a quarter, or 1.1 million barrels, of Venezuelan crude oil each day, the bitter coda is that every barrel we buy fuels his anti-U.S. actions.
These range from crazed speeches to colonial acquisitions like Bolivia to rogue-state alliances with Iran and Zimbabwe to menacing moves against neighbors like Dominica, Guyana and Colombia with $4 billion in weapons purchases.
High oil prices, low supply and his own expropriations of foreign oil partners in Venezuela only increase Chavez's oil cash and clout. The U.S. has been largely helpless, because it has few alternatives to buying Venezuelan crude.
But a new deal announced with Brazil to pool ethanol technology and produce greater quantities of ethanol in both countries could help. ...
The ultimate aim of the ethanol deal is to create a commodity market. This could give every country in the region alternatives for energy buying. In turn, it will undercut Chavez's monopoly and abusive influence.
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who flew to Brazil to iron out the deal, made no secret of that. "Energy has tended to distort the power of some of the states we find to be negative in the world — Venezuela, Iran," said Burns, quoted in the Washington Post. "And so the more we can diversify our energy sources and depend less on oil, the better off we will be."
...this signals an impressive new U.S. diplomatic offensive
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
I know all about economics. I was just explainin' to a feller the other day, "That there car part came from Germany. It's an import. That's why it's more expensive; it had to cross an ocean to get here."
"It's not like something cheap you can get from China."
I know, I know... but at least he's funnier than Leno!!!
He also said, "cellulosic." I was pleased.
If I had known he was going to say it, I would have been crossing my fingers that he got it right.
Goodnight all
I like letterman too L0L
If we're so troubled by the troublemakers in the oil rich areas, why do we ever even kid ourselves that we're some kind of "SUPERPOWER?" Why do we keep buying into the Liberal nonsense that we have no right to exploit the wealth that comes out of the ground?
As a nation... Are we strong/brilliant men/women, or are we little girleymice/sissycats who have to be taught a lesson by terrorists??? Well???
I mean shucks! We could make a new movie, or even make a re-make of "GIANT!" Are you too young to remember that one? Git back to me on that before you throw the big switch, ok? (grin)
I like cheese.
Wull... I'll have to admit, I wasn't expectin THAT answer!!! (snort!)
A soft answer. I have advisers.
If we try to solve all of our problems at the same time, we'll go as crazy as the Liberals.
Let us focus our attention on those things we can do. Let the oil men drill; let the farmers grow food in abundance; let the scientists and the chemists and the engineers work out ways to spin straw into black gold.
And let the Liberals ... um ... let's see, the Liberals can, uh ...
I'll get back to you on that.
"Do you want an acute case on your hands? This woman has immediate postprandial upper abdominal distention!"
If you could turn kudzu into a viable fuel, then you wouldn't need to spend millions on growing the stuff. It just grows no matter what you do to stop it. Just go out and cut it every few days and turn it into whatever kind of biofuel you want. The same goes for some of those invasive plants clogging our lakes like milfoil and hydrilla.
A soft answer.Brie, then.
Ted is the Grand Poobah for life and beyond.
There is an effort to make ethanol from sawgrass. That is much better than wasting corn. It's still all the bad things listed by Sierra Wasp. Better than MTBE, but still damaging to vehicles.
ping!
I see it that way, too. I want to hear him scream.
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