Tag: Energy Independence
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The hard road ahead
In 1980 at the tender age 23, I voted for John B. Anderson for President. Anderson was an independent candidate. Anderson was full of great ideas that were politically non-starters. One of his ideas was to increase the federal gasoline taxes by fifty cents per gallon. This was at a time when you could buy…
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Trapped in exurbia
As a part time prognosticator, I sometimes get it wrong. Sometimes I get it right. When I get it right, it is not necessarily a reason for feeling smug. Today, I reread this post that I wrote back in 2005. I wrote it when the oil squeeze was just beginning. I remarked how uncomfortable I…
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Is mutual interdependence the solution?
That is what I have been asking myself this evening. As often happens, I was getting dishpan hands this evening while listening to the radio. Tonight, C-SPAN Radio was featuring speakers at yesterday’s Republican Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa. I happened to tune into a speech given by candidate and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.…
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No silver bullet
Those of us of a certain age remember the presidency of Jimmy Carter. While Carter’s post presidency was far more successful than his actual presidency, Carter also had a bad habit of not telling us what we wanted to hear. In the midst of rampant high inflation, oil shocks and other systemic problems most of…
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It’s time to prepare for the end of the oil era
I have written before about America’s dependence on oil. In July 2004, I wrote about the end of cheap oil. At the time, the $40 price for a barrel of oil seemed outrageous. Two years later, we look back at those prices with nostalgia. A year later, I wrote that America was a country in…
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The end of the best of times
Some time ago, I wrote about the end of cheap oil. The oil economy is definitely on my mind today because we are in transit. As I write this, we are snaking into Ohio from Pennsylvania on the turnpike. I am wondering how much longer Americans can take for granted simply getting into your car…
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The Virtues of Small Cars
I’m wondering how much longer it will be before small cars became chic again. They were popular in the 1970s but only because gas cost so much. The current high cost of gasoline is now making many reconsider their love affair with their SUVs and consider the merits of smaller cars and hybrids. Perhaps in…
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The chickens are still coming home to roost
Lost in their euphoria over their victory on November 2nd Republicans are likely missing the bigger picture. Systemic problems don’t go away just because an election is won. Bad policy wreaks bad results that can’t be swept under a rug. By reelecting Bush, Americans have put the onus back on Bush and Republicans to fix…
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The End of Cheap Oil
I subscribe to National Geographic. Generally I just flip through the magazine and let my eyes linger on their lush pictures. But occasionally I actually read an article. Their recent article The End of Cheap Oil got my attention. The author makes a convincing case that oil is going to get increasingly more expensive over…
Occam's Razor 