WE HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY

 

By Maj. Gen. Jerry R. Curry (Ret'd)
CurryforAmerica.com

First, let’s get something straight. The environment was created to serve mankind; mankind was not created to serve the environment. Is that clear?  

The mating habits of a snail darter fish or other member of the endangered species club is not the yard stick to be used in determining how American civilization should develop and function. Hopefully the darter’s habitat can be preserved and the darter doesn’t have to be turned into a can of sardines. No one would deliberately go about destroying an endangered species’ habitat, at least not any one rational. But if in the scheme of things preserving it is not possible, then so be it

These same tradeoffs and considerations must continually be addressed while developing a national energy and environmental policy. For example, a primary national goal for the next quarter century should not be to engage in a crash program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, though we should insist on such reductions, rather it is to make the United States of America fully energy independent of foreign oil. Energy independence should be our national goal and the main focus of our efforts.

Unexplored and untapped sources of oil both “off-and-on shore” are more than sufficient to supply the nation’s energy needs, especially in the transportation sector. America’s other energy requirements can easily be met by clean-coal, natural gas and nuclear power. Nearly half of the country’s power needs are currently provided by coal, and we have enough coal in the ground to easily supply 100% of the nation’s energy needs through the end of the century.

New clean burning coal-fired plants can bring in billions of investment dollars to the states while concurrently providing thousands of new jobs. Of course, each state must decide for itself whether or not to welcome the construction of clean coal-fired plants within its borders.

Unfortunately the current policy of the White House goes in the opposite direction. Before election candidate Obama promised that in his efforts to green America, if it was necessary he would spike all of our utility bills and force bankruptcy on the coal industry. He seems to be in the process of doing just that.

He and his Administration seem to be afraid that if the American people are given honest, unvarnished facts they will come to conclusions and make choices which may not support the program he is trying to force down their throats. For Obama, his advisors and czars know that the United States can produce, from existing domestic energy sources, all the oil needed to satisfy our economy’s fuel and transportation requirements for years to come.

They know that it costs nearly three times as much to produce the same amount of electricity by nuclear power as by gas, oil, or clean-coal. Wind costs up to five times as much and solar energy costs ten times as much. Wind and solar are boutique industries which can only supply a little of the nation’s energy needs and windmill blades will continue to be injurious to the health of eagles and other endangered bird species.

The Three Mile Island incident proved beyond question that nuclear energy plants are safe and, in a disaster, do exactly what they are designed to do. When the emergency occurred at Three Mile, the reactor shut itself down with no damage to the local community and no loss of life. This is as safe as it gets and because nuclear technology has proven itself to be so safe, 80% of France’s electricity needs and 50% of Sweden’s are met by nuclear energy. Why can’t this country meet more of its energy needs with nuclear power?

If the federal and state governments provided the necessary leadership, the American people would gladly rally behind them and cooperate with that effort. For example, the citizens of Oklahoma City have chosen to allow oil rigs to be built and to pump oil right in the middle of their delightful city. And the local newspapers, magazines and TV news shows aren’t full of stories about how offended Oklahoma’s citizens are by oil being pumped in the middle of the city. One might therefore wonder why so many political, academic and news media elites in and around the nation’s capital whine so much about the esthetic sensitivities of caribou being offended by the sight of oil rigs pumping oil in ANWAR Alaska. 

God has blessed our country with having, within its geographical borders, all that is necessary to make America fully energy independent. So let us ignore the false leads coming out of the Obama Administration and set about making it happen. Let us, the American people, set as one of our primary goals for the 21^st Century, making the United States fully energy independent, a job we can’t rely on the White House to get done.