Re: SC48

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070810/OPINION/108100024/1006

Technology isn't going to rescue us from oil

The new U.S. Energy Information Administration 2007 Annual Energy Outlook projects a continuing increase in U.S. daily oil consumption.

It is expected to rise to 26.8 million barrels a day in 2030, from 20.7 million in 2005. Oil imports are projected to rise from 13 million barrels per day to 17 million. The EIA also forecasts that polluting coal's share of electric energy production will rise from 49.93 percent in 2005 to 57.44 percent in 2030.

Highly touted ethanol is projected to be less than 1 percent of U.S. energy supply in 2030. Wind is forecast at just 0.89 percent of electric energy fuel in 2030, up from 0.33 percent in 2005.

This is in stark contrast to the "alternate energy - technology will save us" rhetoric blowing in our federal and state capitals. And it also points to the tough choices and realities Americans face in the coming years. This EIA data have dire implications for our energy security, global warming, atmosphere quality and our massive trade deficits.

Presidential delusion about America's energy security began with Nixon's response to the 1973 Arab oil embargo. He announced Project Independence and declared that "by 1980, the U.S. will not be dependent on any other country for the energy we need."

...All this political wind is deluding the public into believing that technology replacements for hydrocarbons are just over the horizon. As a result, they are not ready to accept hard choices such as substantial carbon taxes, which would pay for energy-efficient public transportation, and major alternate energy research.

But as we look toward our energy horizon today, energy analysts don't see those multi-colored rainbows our political leaders are depicting. The only color out there is coal dust black..........