Initially intrigued by an article that began “energy independence is in fact not possible to secure in the United States in the foreseeable future, and is of doubtful utility in any country that might be in a position to achieve it.” Peter Kiernan, in World Politics Review seemed to indicate that significant revelations were forthcoming. But it turned out to be just a little wordplay to argue for realism in energy policy. He simply wanted make a “credible case for the need to reduce oil consumption without arguing for energy independence as a goal.”

He makes his points by easily knocking down a number of “myths” he presents about US dependence on Middle East for oil.

• U.S. “not as dependent on Middle East producers for its oil as is sometimes implied” - Approx 21% of oil from Persian Gulf in 2007. OK - good to know.
• U.S. is the world’s largest oil market. It consumes 20.7 million barrels per day, 1 in 4 barrels used in the World each day. The author argues that reversal of oil consumption would require “drastic measures.” However, simple energy efficiency is directly effecting bottom line of a number of large corporations today. And, attention to better engineering would greatly change how many basic systems run, significantly lowering overall operational costs and once again directly effecting corporate revenues. How is this drastic?
• Most terrorists do not rely on oil money therefore change in oil use would not affect terrorism. However, oil is one of the primary reasons we are entangled in Middle Eastern politics. Once again, ok, but who is arguing that “most terrorists rely on oil money?”
• Curtailing oil consumption would have no effect on relations with Iran, Russia, Venezuela and others. “Reducing oil import dependence may be worthwhile in the long term, but it won’t make an immediate impact on regimes seen today to be problematic.” Don’t agree. There are always implications to change, whether direct or indirect. Policies that encourage alternative energy technologies, make us more flexible in supplying our energy needs, and provide even limited freedom from competition for available oil would have to impact both our competitive position in the global market as well as our political relations with oil producing countries.
• Middle East contains just over 60 percent of the world’s known oil reserves, with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait alone having just over half of the world’s total reserves. Output growth from non-OPEC producers will not change the fact that the world will be largely dependent on the Middle East for the bulk of its supplies for the foreseeable future, and that Middle East producers are well-placed to supply the oil hungry markets of Asia. Once again, good to know but the U.S. can improve its competitive position if it chooses to do so.

Mr. Kiernan promised more in his opening statement but, in my humble opinion, failed to deliver.

Source: World Politics Review

The chart from the Center On Budget and Policy Priorities report, Where Do Our Federal Tax Dollars Go? , breaks down how the Federal Government spent $2.7 trillion in fiscal year 2007. Defense, Social Security and Healthcare continue to be the 3 big tickets. The “Everything Else” category accounts for Benefits for Civilian Retirees and Veterans, Education, Scientific and Medical Research, Transportation, and Non-security International expenditures.

Andrew Sullivan also points out an interesting article on Portfolio.com about the Pentagon’s accounting problem.

“Since 2004, the Pentagon has spent roughly $16 billion annually to maintain and modernize the military’s business systems, but most are as unreliable as ever—even as the surge in defense spending is creating more room for error.”

How can you not have waste and abuse if you can’t even account for the resources you expend?

Small entrepreneurs are out there diligently working on a variety of clean technologies from solar panels, and wind turbines to production methods for fuel alternatives.

“Energy is the biggest business in the world, the mother of all markets,” says venture capitalist John Doerr, Google’s first funder. The winners of the race to reinvent energy will not only save the planet, but will also make megafortunes.”

However, the overall promise and impact of clean technologies will not be realized without large scale investments in the billions of dollars. There is currently enough money out there chasing the available opportunities according to Mr. Doerr. But energy has much larger capital demands if it is to scale to meet significantly impact the worlds energy needs. This type of investment will not be made until the already complex regulatory nature of the energy industry is further settled. Potential large scale investments are currently waiting on the US Congress to set the rules of the game regarding caps on carbon emissions.Source:

• Wall Street Journal
• c|net News.com

Today’s military forces need greater operational independence. As a result the US military is seeking ways to be more agile, mobile and extend the range of their vehicles, while cutting their fuel logistic requirements. They are developing a series of Manned Ground Vehicles (MGV) powered by a hybrid diesel/electric drivetrain. These are similar to the “Agressor,” the off-road Alternative Mobility Vehicle (AMV) announced in May 2007. These efforts and accompanying field applications should contribute valuable knowledge and possibly prod commercial interests to put more energy into developing more lightweight, efficient vehicles.

Source: Popular Mechanics

Chena Hot Springs Resort generates enough power from a low temperature (165 F vs typical 300 F) geothermal system to generate electricity, heat buildings, maintain a greenhouse and an ice museum. The key is mining geothermal energy, a cleaner more reliable source than other alternatives - “heat stored beneath the Earth’s surface holds 50,000 times the energy of all the oil and gas in the world combined.” The question then is why are more people not using geothermal to provide the energy they need?

Source: Popular Mechanics - February 2008