America has a very serious energy problem. Most of the oil we get comes from unstable and often unfriendly countries. We have to do something soon but our politicians seem mired in the mud when it comes to making the right choices. So, here is our energy problem as I see it. OPEC and other large oil producers have jerked us around on price by means of supply to keep us on oil. When prices get high enough that alternative energies start to compete and there is talk of building infrastructure, supply comes out of the woodwork and drives prices down drastically and that takes talk of competing alternatives out of the discussion again. Then they start working price up again until we reach the point of discussions about serious alternative and, again, oil comes out of the woodwork and pushes prices back down. This pattern keeps repeating itself to keep us on oil at the highest prices possible. So, the Democrats want to tax fossil fuel energy to artificially drive prices higher to encourage alternative energy alternatives. The biggest problem with this is 1) it will hurt lower income and average Americans tremendously and may cause another recession; 2) they want to use the Cap & Trade carbon credit method to raise taxes and under this plan the world is planning to take those tax dollars and distribute them to the undeveloped third world. (In other words, the world is waiting to rape America again). So, the tax dollars won't go to develop energy infrastructure or alternatives to oil; and 3) CO2 has been deemed the enemy through global warming hype and fossil fuel alternatives like natural gas, methane hydrates, coal gasification, oil shale development, etc. that could get us off oil would also suffer the Cap & Trade taxes thus making them as unfeasible as oil. Therefore, the only energy alternative that the environmentalists and the democrats will allow is solar, wind and recycling bio-fuels. None of that is viable enough to replace oil. And, forget nuclear. The environmentalists tell us there is nowhere to put the waste. So, here we are. The Al Gores want Cap & Tax so they can get wealthier, the world wants Cap & Tax so they can get hundreds of billions of dollars from America, and here we sit stuck doing the same old thing because we aren't allowed to use the energy sources we have available now. The Stupidity Has To End!!!
On this we agree. As mentioned in another thread, natural gas and nuke plants are the solution. Countless jobs would be created with the nuke plant construction, and many more jobs would trickle down in support of those construction efforts. Natural gas conversion would create many small business opportunities and jobs during the conversion process. And of course, we achieve energy independence. It's so obvious it makes me wonder what the problem is, and of course I have a theory. What happens in the middle east when we don't need them anymore? They just going to lay down and die? Learn to live in peace? Use the money they've made to develop their countries? No to it all! What they'll do is become more violent than ever, and then we'll have to do what needs doing, and we don't have the stones to do it. So here we sit, damned if we do, and damned if we don't.
I'm hoping when the day comes that oil is no longer feeding billions of dollars into ME countries that they will go back to just having their tribal fights and wars amongst themselves. Unfortunately, I think you are right. They will use the capital they have amassed to increase the spread of their religion and influence around the world. Hopefully, they will fail.