Bush Postpones Promise Until Energy Meets Demand

Oh, joy for greenies! President Bush has reneged on a campaign promise – sort of – but enough to bash him about it.

During a campaign stop last year, Bush rattled off a list of four power-plant gases he would further limit. They were sulfur dioxide, which causes “acid rain;” nitrogen oxide, which contributes to “smog;” mercury, which is toxic; and carbon dioxide, which many scientists say creates a “greenhouse” barrier that traps heat.

Christie Whitman, new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, began implementing Bush’s “promises” vigorously.

Then, there was a shortage of electricity in California, and a shortage of furnace oil in New England states. Nothing focuses the minds of politicians like that of voter unhappiness.

Bush now says that the inclusion of carbon dioxide – the fizz in soda pop and what we exhale – on the list of noxious gases was an “error.” Carbon dioxide, as a byproduct of electricity production, is OK for the moment.

This made coal consumers -- and West Virginia miners -- happy again. Fifty-six percent of U.S. electricity is produced by coal-burning power plants. California, eat your heart out.

There is plenty of coal in the United States, but it is the dirtiest of fossil fuels and hard to handle. Oil is convenient but in short supply. Its availability and price is manipulated by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – led by Saudi Arabia.

Bush proposes to alleviate the energy shortage by encouraging exploration and extraction of oil and natural gas on federal lands. Yes, even in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWiR).

“The age of oil is coming to an end,” declared Sheik Ahmed Yamani before an OPEC price-fixing meeting last year. He formerly was Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, and an organizer of OPEC. Now he is an oil consultant in London.

“Technology is our real enemy,” warned Yamani. “It will reduce oil consumption and increase production from other areas. The Stone Age came to an end not for a lack of stones. The oil age will end, but not for a lack of oil.

“The real victims will be countries like Saudi Arabia having huge reserves which they can do nothing with. The oil will stay in the ground forever.”

He points out that hybrid gasoline-electric automobiles getting 70 miles per gallon are now on the market. He believes hydrogen fuel cells -- that already energize space ships and fleet buses -- will be the principal power source for vehicles in 20 years.

William Ford, Jr., chairman of Ford Motor Co., predicts that the fuel cell will replace the internal combustion engine within 25 years. He says he will put a test fleet on the road this year.

Yamani is wrong about oil staying in the ground. Petroleum is the ingredient of plastic. It is good that oil will be available for plastics and other organic chemistry. From this perspective, oil is too precious to burn.

Plastic is useful, but it doesn’t power the family chariot or furnace. Until technology overtakes oil, governments must deal with emergencies. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997, dear to global environmentalists, is moribund.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies has determined that without new energy sources, half the world’s oil in 2020 will be supplied by “countries that pose a high risk of internal instability.”

The American Petroleum Institute calculates that today’s known oil reserves will last 40 years. Utilization of natural gas, and certain discovery of new oil pools, will triple reserves.

The energy/technology revolution will have taken over well before today’s reserves are dented. However, new sources, and energy-saving technologies, are needed -- like yesterday.

Thus, Bush’s delay of regulations hampering energy production right now is Politics 101. Also fundamental is the speed at which he recanted. Take the hit early while it’s small.

Democrats are in no mood for bipartisanship. It will be trench warfare until the 2002 congressional elections are tucked away. And maybe not then if the Democrats’ designated naysayers Sen. Tom Daschle and Rep. Dick Gephardt are still around.

Dubya frustrates Democrats. He is so pragmatic. He moves so fast. He is so charming. He is so focused on two or three big issues he can’t be rattled by whiners.

Democrats had better get on Bush’s bandwagon or they will have nothing to do but clean streets after elephant parades.

PARTING SHOTS

Rev. Jesse Jackson, under fire for bankrolling his mistress with Rainbow Coalition tax-exempt money, now is pressed to explain why the Democratic National Committee “reimbursed” him $450,000 last year. More than one party is being deceived.

* * *

Minority leader Rep. Dick Gephardt says House approval of President Bush’s tax cut “has killed bipartisanship.” As a wit once said: “Bipartisanship is the art of saying ‘nice doggie’ until you can find a rock.”

Lindsey Williams is a Sun Columnist

Williams – energy

Sunday – march 18, 2001

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