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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Obama the Regulator – Part III – Going Green to Create Jobs

Three-Part Series in Hypocrisy titled Obama the Regulator

Part III – Going Green to Create Jobs

In addressing Obama's job creation scheme, I will focus on his "green" initiatives.

Al Gore, inventor of the internet, saver of the planet, and resident environmental charlatan, I mean "guru" has "come a callin'" for his pound of tofu from The Messiah. So he and Obama met to discuss saving the planet. Can you think of two people more qualified to save the world than these to superheroes? Me either!

Now if you are a loyal blog follower, you have heard me rant on the hypocrisy of "saving the planet ", an orb that has been around long before man. And when you consider the other orbs in our solar system have noxious gases, volcanoes, earthquakes, toxic radiation levels, and daily ELLE events, yet these planets continue to survive, I think the earth will be fine. So let's be clear that these "green" initiatives are not about saving the earth, but about making earth more comfortable for us.

Aside from the idea that the biggest proponents of "saving the earth" typically are the largest contributors to "killing the earth", let's just look at the other aspects of this discussion and from a capitalist point of view.

So I begin with one of the more viable potential energy sources; solar energy. Solar has potential, though it is still a ways off from mainstream. This is due mainly to upfront costs. However, there are other factors.

For example, the efficiency of the system relies on the location of the sun, though this problem can be overcome with the installation of certain components. And the presence of clouds or pollution in the air can affect solar energy production. Further, no solar energy will be produced during nighttime, so a battery backup system and/or net metering solution is needed.

Over time and under the right circumstances solar will likely become viable, as semiconductor materials continue to decrease in cost, and storage capacities increast. Nevertheless, Alaskans wouldn't want to rely on solar energy, given they have six months of nighttime, nor would you want to run your critical care hospital on solar energy.

Wind power has been around for decades, and aside from Grandpas' "pull my finger", which is good for a laugh now and again, wind power for electricity is an abject failure. You simply can't depend on the wind, as this article suggests:

"Wind farm-siting depends on the long-term forecasting of wind patterns, but climate is always changing. When it comes to wind power, it is not simply 'build it and the wind will come.' Even the momentary loss of wind can be a problem. As Reuters reported on Feb. 27, 'Loss of wind causes Texas power grid emergency.' The electric grid operator was forced to curtail 1,100 megawatts of power to customers within 10 minutes. Wind isn't a standalone power source. It needs a Plan B for when the wind 'just don't blow.'"

And here is the dirty little secret about bio-fuels. It takes more energy to create a bio-fuel, than they generate. But don't take my word for it:

Cornell University researcher David Pimental concludes that the numbers just don't add up. His 2005 study found that producing ethanol from corn required 29 percent more energy than the end product itself is capable of generating. He found similarly troubling numbers in making biodiesel from soybeans.

"There is just no energy benefit to using plant biomass for liquid fuel," Pimentel says.

Ah, but before we can tackle job creation, let's first put the coal plants out of business, because they generate too much C02. I am sure that Obama didn't factor shutting down those plants in his 2.5M jobs creation package, or at least he wouldn't tell us. Welcome to the hypocrisy Iowa, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and all other coal producing states. The clock is ticking on you, as you are accelerating global warming. Discover more about that hoax here.

So what does the Fed want to do? Invest in all these technologies that the free market has rejected to date. Sound familiar?

But what is not being considered is nuclear, so far the most efficient and cheapest of all technologies discussed. So unless Obama is going to allow the building of more nuclear power plants, the Fed won't be creating any new jobs going green. Leave it to a Liberal, however to believe he is a creator, when he has no direct and very little indirect ability to do so.

The free market however is driving towards compressed natural gas and hydrogen. And the free
market will create jobs, based solely on investors' ability to make money. If wind technology and bio-fuels were profitable, investors would support them. The free market rejected wind turbines, for example, because they are costly, maintenance nightmares, eye-sores on the environment, and not very efficient for creating energy…sounds like the perfect project for government to support! Another doomed technology or industry or system of government (socialism), that hasn't worked, but the Liberals believe they can rehabilitate.

On the other hand, T Boone Pickens is willing to invest in CNG, because he recognizes that we must still drill for oil, and the by-product of oil production is natural gas. Investors will likely support continued development in hydrogen technologies, as it is the cheapest potential source of energy ever, and with only water as a by-product. Solar energy will likely get funding, because of recent breakthroughs in storage capacity. So the market recognizes what works, usually when the government doesn't.

Here's the wrap:

If you are relying on the government to "create jobs", keep in mind that most of these "job creators" have never created a single job in the real world. They have never had even departmental profit/loss responsibility, or run a company. Most are wards of the government, being lifelong members of their exclusive bodies. They have paid dearly to get where they are. And now they want their return on investment.
 
So if you believe they are making decisions based on what's good for you, the American taxpayer, then may I interest you in owning your own island…it's called Bikini Atoll?

That's my rant!

© 2008 Kevin Jackson – The Black Sphere All Rights Reserved
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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jennifer Kutsick (Jacksonville U.) wrote at 9:33am

Ya I was wondering about the highway system....thought this was kind of a crazy announcement, yet it doesn't seem to have been discussed much in the media...maybe pres-elect wants to build a new system...sorta an all roads lead to the health & welfare building so the public does not have to sit in traffic for hours while we wait for our health care services to be rationed off and our *stimulous check*.....anyway just wanted to say I really like your blog...I look forward to reading each new posting!

Anonymous said...

PuterPrsn 36 minutes ago

Again, another nail on target. Great blog!

Anonymous said...

KJeffV 27 minutes ago

+1 f/"pound of tofu"

Anonymous said...

mmaine 15 minutes ago

Another great rant from "theblacksphere".
Thanks for posting Kevin!

Pacaderm said...

I think you are onto something with teh "pull my finger" comment. I can see it now.... it would be just like in the movie Monsters, Inc., only it wouldn't be scream power or laughs... (Well, the laughs might still be there...)
I say we invest NOW. I'm heading to Taco Bell!

Anonymous said...

Lovely rant, Kevin!
Did you know that besides creating biofuels from plant life isn't feasible, it also can and has created food shortages in third world countries such as haiti that rely on the U.S. imported corn grain? The food riots were reported briefly in msm but never eloborated as to there cause.
Sensing a chance to make bigger profits, large corporate corn farmers started growing corn for fuel comsumption instead of human consumption. How in the world can we drive cars on corn fuel knowing people are literally starving for our benefit, against their will. Sounds like a form of those twin 'ism's', communisim, socialism.

The Black Sphere said...

Pac, I always look forward to your comments! Rose-Bud, didn't cover the "food" aspects, because it's ridiculous enough that we expend 129% the energy to get 100% out of something. If that is not a Liberal idea, then I don't know what is. And the by-product is people starve. Yep. Liberal!

Matt said...

A liberal or politician creating a job is simply an illusion. They are taking a job away from one area and putting it into another area. The problem is that it's not just a wash - there is an economic loss that is created from having a tax that gave the government the money to give the job. So we have one person with a new job, one person without a job they might of had, and an economy just a little bit worse off. Now, multiply that by however many jobs the government promises to "create" and that is the net effect. It looks good if you look at just the new job, but it looks terrible if you look at the whole picture. Economics 101 baby ;)

The Black Sphere said...

Matt, you got me adding three and carrying the one, but I got it! Libs can't create! It's a shell game...Economics 101, Baby!

Anonymous said...

thoughtsonthis 4 hr 17 min ago

Always look forward to your posts.

Anonymous said...

I am far from a global warming "advocate", or however Gore's disciples may be called.

I do however agree with creating green jobs for the simple sake of getting a head start on energy independence.

More research needs to be put into nuclear power before oil, exhaustible resource, exhausts, for lack of a better word.

Upwards of 70% (can't remember the exact figure) of France is dependent on nuclear energy. If they can do it, we should certainly be able to also.

It's better to invest in alternate forms of energy now, when the price of gas is plummeting, than when there is an extreme urgency (when gas is threatening $5).