November 18, 2008
And now, a message from President Jimmy Carter on the energy crisis, and what we're going to do about it.
This same speech could be given today.
We did nothing back then. Nothing. And thirty years later, we've made no progress. None.
An epic failure on the behalf of Carter, the Congress, and the American people.
So, will history repeat itself? Will we again do nothing?
Or has something changed?
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37 comments:
Blaming Carter is like blaming the American Airlines flight captain for 9/11.
Carter was right on so many things, not perfect by any means, but at least he diagnosed the big problems and went for the wisest solutions.
It was the people, and their crack dealers on the right, who failed. (yes, the left is for a massive welfare state, but at least they are honest enough to tax the living s*** out of you to pay for it)
If a person isn't jaw-boning the people to change their slovenly ways, you know that person is a liar and a swindler.
A la Reagan, the people aren't the solution to the problem, the people ARE the problem!
Agree. The people ARE the problem. They vote for corrupt monkeys who don't address the issues. They put off fixing problems until it's too late. And now, we are f*cked.
Americans made their bed and now they get to sleep in it.
But things are going to get so bad in 2009, perhaps they're ready to change.
We'll see.
A civilisation that requires the extraction of finite natural resouces from the earth to survive by definition cannot be sustained - me.
News flash keith...
All spheres are finite...the earth is a sphere.
Ha ha, suuurrreeee, its the peoples fault.
Polls after poll shows that Americans want us to produce our own energy, including drilling, natural gas and coal. It's the politicians that don't listen. Why? Because the no backbone Pubs don't have the gonads to fight the environmental lobby and the Dems are beholden to them.
It's amazing that politicians don't do the obvious, drill and explore, increase nuclear energy at home while transitioning to newer alternatives. It'll keep costs down, make us independent, and ease the burden of the massive infrastructure transition that is necessary to eventually free ourselves of fossil fuels.
Oh, and Keith, the housing crisis is far from over. Obama ain't the answer.
"We did nothing back then. Nothing. And thirty years later, we've made no progress. None."
We did worse than nothing we elected Reagan who convinced most American's that it is more fun to live in fantasyland than it is to work toward making progress.
Carter treated Americans as adults. reagan convinced them they never had to grow up.
"Americans made their bed and now they get to sleep in it."
Some Americans made this bed but the only ones who will have to lie in it are the ones who will take this lying down.
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“There have been loud cries of despair over the current energy crisis, and equally loud grumblings to the effect that the whole thing is an artificially created problem, a manufactured scare produced by the politicians and the big oil companies, who are manipulating us into allowing the oil companies to raise their prices, escape environmental protection rules, and drill for oil everywhere and anywhere they choose to. ...
“Are we really in a deep crisis, where we will have to drastically change our energy consumption patterns? Or are we being manipulated by a sinister combination of governmental and industrial Svengalis? … We have the resources, the talent, the technology to solve the energy crisis. The question is, do we have the guts, the heart, the leadership, the will to get the job done?”
I wrote those words in 1974.
Thirty-four years ago.
Back then, the U.S. was reeling from the Arab oil embargo and a double-headed “oil shock” that saw cars (and their steaming drivers) waiting in long lines for fill-ups at gasoline stations.
Back then, it was obvious that we would have to move from imported petroleum to new energy sources that are cleaner and don’t come from the volatile Middle East.
Thirty-four years ago.
What has changed? Well, today we are more dependent on imported petroleum than we were then. And emerging industrial powers such as China and India are competing for that petroleum, which drives up its price. We still don’t have enough refining capacity to meet the nation’s needs. And gasoline costs about $4 a gallon.
In other words, our political and industrial leaders have spent the past 34 years doing nothing — except raking in more and more profits.
Shamelessly stolen from
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/apr/26/ben-bova-what-has-changed-last-gas-crisis/
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/
http://thinkprogress.org/
These are some of the blogs that Obama uses I think.
Say something in there.
Why is this a problem? When gas/oil gets too expensive, we'll start using more hybrids and use natural gas instead. We can use plug-in hybrids with the electric grid powered by nuclear.
Gasoline/oil production has a huge infrastructure behind it, on the producer and consumer end. It won't end until it becomes uneconomic to do so.
If cellulosic ethanol ever becomes plausible, then we'll have no need for gasoline.
Right now, these alternatives simply aren't cost effective, esp. when gas is now $1.75/gal.
Don't worry so much people. Technology will save our asses, just like it always has.
Check out the most recent report from the IEA:
http://europe.theoildrum.com/node/4763
They are the international organization that has the official numbers on oil production and reserves.
Oil production from existing fields goes over a cliff after 2010. Yes, we are f#cked! The geologists and many others have been saying this for years. But just like HousingPanic, everybody said they were nuts. Many still say that.
Here in the US, we better start building a passenger rail system between cities, commuter rail and electric light rail and buses in our metropolitan areas.
If we don't, soon most of us are not going to be able to get from here to there.
And now a message from Hank Paulson on the Bailout and what he is going to do about it:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/27784348
Paulson: Use Rescue Fund Only For Financial System
cnbc.com headline
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Tuesday said the unpredictable nature of the current financial crisis meant it was necessary to ensure that financial bailout money was not diverted to other uses.
Like mortgages? BWHAHAHAHA Like helping people stay employed? BWHAHAHAH
Please wake up America. It is so embarrassing to listen to this man tell us with a straight face the many ways he intends to screw us.
Anonymous said...
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/
http://thinkprogress.org/
These are some of the blogs that Obama uses I think.
Say something in there.
-------------------------
You know Keith, once in a while you used to tell HP'ers to go to another site and post. Spreading the word.
Mish has got another fax, email and phone campaign against the GM bailout going on. Bless him. I try and do my part.
Changing America one attitude at a time.
Good graph to show who the money wasters are:
http://mikelove.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/deficit.gif
You are over looking Richard Nixon's big speech announcing Operation Energy Independence back in the early 70's. Somehow that little scandal called Watergate got Nixon, and the country, a little side tracked. I would love for people to read that speech now and see for themselves how long ago we were warned about energy dependence. Maybe I am a shameless nerd, but when I saw the emergence of SUVs and supersized pickup trucks I wondered if anyone at all from my generation remembered that speech or the long gas lines with odd/even days. Evidently, not.
Cogress is drilling Paulson ,The Feds and Shelia Blair on the Tarp
Program . If your around Keith ,This is a great hearing .
As I recall, RayGun scrapped all of Carter's alternative energy proposals and policies in favor of Big Oil. Once they got the price up where they wanted, you were swimming in it! Talk to most boomers, and older, today, and they think Ronnie was the greatest president of the 20th century. That bought and paid for SOB took us from tax and spend to borrow and spend. And the sheeple went along for the ride.
And here we are today, still blaming Jimmy!
The American sheeple bought Reagan's lies because they were spoiled, and they intended to remain spoiled.
I find it amusing that Carter continues to outlive the rest of them. I hope he lasts till about 150. Kinda like God's promise to Moses that he would outlive all the generation of Israel who had chose to foolishly sin AND FOLLOW A FALSE GOD!
Why is the left so enamored with eliminating people? Is the self-loathing that intense for you all? You spew lofty talk about change, transformation, sustainability, etc., and all this bullshit distills down to one thing: we need to get rid of ____X____, where X is some definable group you disagree with politically. Of course offing millions for the "greater good" was the stock and trade for fine leaders like Stalin, Mao, & Pol Pot.
Come on you progressives, the election is over and it's OK to come out of the closet now -- tell us who you want gone -- dish!
afterthought:
"yes, the left is for a massive welfare state, but at least they are honest enough to tax the living s*** out of you to pay for it"
I give you the 44th President of the United States:
"'The consensus is this, that we have to do whatever it takes to get this economy moving again, that we have to -- we're going to have to spend money now to stimulate the economy,' he told the CBS television network's 60 Minutes news program.
'And (consensus is) that we shouldn't worry about the deficit next year or even the year after; that short term, the most important thing is that we avoid a deepening recession.'"
That's honesty?!? That's the same way we've done things for years! Like Keith, you tune out when facts don't stack against what you;ve said previously.
Obama Loves E85! He is on it.
FMW
Sashers, much of the blame should be directed were it belongs = Europe
The Eurotards (AKA International community) twisted the response to the Energy issue from looking for a ‘Solution’ to ‘Conservation’.
Solution = Researching alternative energy and an alternatives to the internal combustion engine.
Conservation = no real change but stretching out our dependants on Fossil fuel.
Eurotard leaders where and still are in the pockets of ‘Petro Dollar Arabia’
Ahh, so we now have a better understanding of how a lot of things went down.
1)Motive for major Eurotatrd resistance against struggle with extreme Islamist
2)Unconditional one sided votes against anything Israel at the UN
3)Total Corruption at every level with the ‘oil for food’ program.
4)Major push for energy conservation (distraction from solution focus) ‘climate change emergency’ all about stretching out our dependants on oil and enjoying ‘Petro Dollar Arabia’.
5)Sabotaging the US with the war on terror on every step of the way.
Think about every global issue and you’ll find Europe on the side of
‘Petro Dollar Arabia’ every single time.
I too believe in the greater conscious theory, and we are here today in a large part due to seeds that have been planted in very subtle ways by the corrupt Europeans.
Then is it possible that the ones running around crying ‘Conspiracy’ are the Conspirators?
Hmmmmm
Back to HP..
Just went to look at a house I found on the realwhore website.
Looked GREAT. Brick, four bed, three bath, only $48,000!
Got there.
All windows knocked out and boarded up. A/C unit stolen. Inside totally trashed.
Garage doors bashed in.
Looked a bit different then on the realwhore website. How rare.
I said, did the people who lived here tear the place up? (was being offered by GMAC). He said , yes, isn't it awful. I said , hell no, I don't blame them. They were probably doing their best to pay when the mortgage company screwed them over.
He kind of looked shocked that I would have an opinion at all.
He asked me what I was looking for, and I said just a little place that I don't have to pay a fortune for, in halfway decent condition. Told him I thought house prices would be falling more. He gave the realwhore speech about how the foreclosure inventory had gone way down and blah, blah, blah. I said, yeah, but a lot are getting ready to re-set. And who's got 20% to put down on a house now.
He's just some young guy with a daughter he takes to ballet practice. Just trying to make a living I guess, so I didn't want to throw him to the sharks...not that he hasn't been doing that to other people for years tho.
HE JUST DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS DEALING WITH AN HP'ER.
YOU DON'T KNOW WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO HERE!
Gave me his card. Tore it up and threw it out the window as I drove away.
Oh well, just thought I'd throw in my housing experience for the day.
Anyone think that BP (British Petrolium) and Exxon are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on ‘Green TV commercials’ cause they want to sell less oil?
Welcome to the world of the BBC and Eurotard lies.
I'm a boomer.
I took this newspaper called the National Observer and I remember reading about when Jimmy Carter first said he was going to run for president. He told his mother, and she said president of what?
I remember buying Billy Beer.(His alcoholic brother's atempt to cash in Jimmy's presidency)
But I was all excited and thought he would make a great president.
The saddest thing about my whole life is that I STILL HAVE HELD ONTO ALL OF MY HUMANITARIAN VALUES since 1969. I THOUGHT THE WORLD WOULD START CHANGING FOR THE BETTER THEN. So, it has nearly destroyed me watching everything go in the opposite direction ever since. Watching hippies we thought were cool go 'establishment' and rip off the system at every turn.
I've been a painter all of my life.
Had plenty of chances to make a lot money, but turned them all down, because I hated what money did to people, and like to stay close to the ground.
I couldn't figure out where all of this 'new money' was coming from, so stayed totally away from it.
Don't really know what the point of all this is. The early 70's weren't so bad. We didn't have all that much, but things were so much better then.
Malls were a new thing that I nor none of my friends thought much of.
Most of my friends were already into solar and growing their own food, preparing for the big changes that never happened. Some eventually went crazy. The rest sold out.
There weren't nearly as many people. Only a few fast food restautants. We bought albums, lots of great music.
But you know, the future is like a drug. It's like cocaine. If you never do it, you never miss it.
So all that's been 'invented' since the 70's, we never missed it then, and were happy.
Nobody had much money, but nobody really cared all that much about it.
Don't know what the point of all this is, except trying to figure out why when people really didn't have much at all, they were just as or more happy then when they had all of this crap. And how a depression at it's worse would just look like 1970 again, and it really wasn't all that bad.
I mean, my parent's were in their teens during the depression. Neither under great circumstances, but they got by and had a good time from what I could tell.
So much is made about having money.
It's the national pastime.
Maybe because there isn't anything to do in this country anymore but talk about it or try to manipulate it in one way or the other.
It's like our consumerism has turned us into commodities and taken away our humanity.
I don't know, maybe it's just me.
What exactly is a Eurotard?
Is it a car?
Please explain
Hal9000
What energy problem?
Gas is $1.85 a gal. in Texas. I love driving my F-250 with that 7L V-10 powerhouse.
Get outta my way you Prius driving, Carter lovin', surrender-monkey wusses.....
"I said, did the people who lived here tear the place up? (was being offered by GMAC). He said , yes, isn't it awful. I said , hell no, I don't blame them. They were probably doing their best to pay when the mortgage company screwed them over.
He kind of looked shocked that I would have an opinion at all."
Personally I think the guy was shocked that you think they got "screwed over" by a mortgage company for not paying their bill.
You pay the bill, you keep the house. You screw the mortgage company, they screw you.
When you're young and have the world in neat little boxes, it's easy to think you would give people time to pay. You also think if you were an employer you'd cut people slack. Then you get screwed left and right, grow up and grow a pair, and tighten things down.
Gave me his card. Tore it up and threw it out the window as I drove away.
--------------------------------------
Sure, don't put forth the effort to throw it away in a trash can, that would be too much work!
litter bug.
at $2/gal gas, does a prius ever pay for itself, even when compared to a hummer?
Hal9000 said:
'What exactly is a Eurotard?
Is it a car?
Please explain'
Its that funny looking thing Euro-peeons see when they look in the mirror.
"We did worse than nothing we elected Reagan who convinced most American's that it is more fun to live in fantasyland than it is to work toward making progress".
I'm 48 years old and ashamed to say I fell for Reagan's bullshit and voted for him. This country was irreparably harmed by Sarah Palin's grandfather Reagan. He was as clueless and stupid as she is. The only difference is Ronnie had Alzheimer's and Nancy and her astrologer ran the country. We lost 30 years of addressing the Peak Oil problem. We are fucked.
So much is made about having money.
It's the national pastime.
Maybe because there isn't anything to do in this country anymore but talk about it or try to manipulate it in one way or the other.
It's like our consumerism has turned us into commodities and taken away our humanity.
I don't know, maybe it's just me.
No it's not just you. There are millions of us that feel just as you do. We just need to scream with one voice again to drown out the greed. Greed is really noisy.
As I said before on this blog, as long as the Arabs can dictate the price of oil and cut the price to avoid energy alternatives nothing will change. Carter was on the right track and blaming him is ignorance of the actual event. Reagan is to blame for scrapping a lot of the energy initiatives and getting rid of many industries, which we desparately need today. I am a minority of boomers who think Reagan was the worst President in this country, next to Bush W. of course. Reagan cut the CAFE standards which would have put us in the 40 mpg today. As a person there in the 70's and witnessing actuality not Bs'n about it, we were on the right track until the price of oil dropped and 79C per gallon for gas obliterated any thought of conservation and altenate fuels. It's happening again folks and if you don't see it you are doomed to repeat $4, $5 $10 per gallon of gas.
Realize we are in a economic oil war with the Arabs, Russians and Chavez and if we treat the energy as a defense issue rather than economic one, we will win and prevail including our chief enemy China. Otherwise we will spend 20 to 30% of our income on carting ourselves to McDonalds and Walmart.
Wake Up America!!!
An interesting book and web site for those of you Sashers who are interested in the future of green business is "Natural Capitalism" or natcap.org.
The book was originally written in 1995 and basically argues that the next Industrial Revolution will be green due to the scarcity of various resources. I like it because it takes a practical, realistic approach environmentalism, not the usual liberal knee-jerk dogma. It understands that capitalism is a real force and can be a force for good in the green movement.
Here is what The Economist said in 1999:
"Much of what the authors argue for is sensible, and certainly desirable. But what makes this book worth reading is the fact that the authors have taken as first principles for their Utopia the harsh truths of Darwinian capitalism: individuals and companies act in their self interest, and markets guide that impulse through prices."
What exactly are Euro-peeons?
Is it European persons held in compulsory servitude to a master for the working out of an indebtedness?
Please explain.
Hal9000
Personally I think the guy was shocked that you think they got "screwed over" by a mortgage company for not paying their bill.
__________________
Checked on Zillow. This house that has been trashed sold 10/12/2004 for $126,000.
If GMAC is anything like Countrywide, they could and would do anything they want to foreclose. Like saying you owe back taxes, when you have never recieved a notice, and you are out on the street before you know it.
There were a lot of other gimmics they had. That's just one I remember. They wanted to sell the house, get the fees, foreclose, re-sell the house, earn more fees, etc.
I just figure that these people were probably sold a sub-prime, ARM mortgage.
The mortage companies made much more money off of sub-prime loans, and tried to get as many people in them as they could, EVEN if they had a substantial down-payment, good credit score and decent income. I know, because it almost happend to me, except for HP.
I just remember this little black lady coming in my store a few years back, and after 17 years in her home, which she almost had paid for, Chase foreclosed on her and for what she didn't know. She had NEVER missed a payment.
Within a few weeks, they re-sold it to someone else for a lot more money I'm sure, and she has had to live with her daughter ever since.
She was a very nice, respectable, dependable type lady. It was pure mortage fraud.
I think about it every day, because I still feel like with what I know now, I should have found a way to help her, or get her in contact with someone who could.
I think anyone who had anything to do with the mortgage companies in the last 8 years has been screwed one way or the other.
It's the biggest, unprosecuted, organized crime of my life time.
Most of them are on a par with the payday cash advance companies as far as I'm concerned.
They certainly DID NOTHING TO HELP PEOPLE STAY IN THERE HOMES, and aren't doing so now, unless by force.
So no, I don't blame them one bit for trashing the place.
The little Christmas lights from last year were still hanging around the door. They probably had kids,and LOVED their home, until the mafia GMAC managed to foreclosed on them.
It only makes sense to me.
Poor leadership and unjust, unfair behavior causes a ripple effect in the general population.
"When you're young and have the world in neat little boxes, it's easy to think you would give people time to pay. You also think if you were an employer you'd cut people slack. Then you get screwed left and right, grow up and grow a pair, and tighten things down."
_______________________________
I have a business, I give people time to pay, I even give them stuff.
I'm an employer and I cut a lot of slack.
My world has never been in neat little boxes, more like the kween of kaos, but I can sleep at night, because I do everything I can to help anyone I can, and that makes me feel better then ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY EVER COULD.
I think a lot of men have wives and kids who want lots of stuff.
If that's your situation, I feel sorry for you, because to me it just reflects the consumerism cancer that is killing the soul of this country.
Most men can and do get by with very little, but I am really ashamed of how mercenary some (most)women are.
Smartass: I don't have to worry, I don't drive a car!
Dumbass: You numbskull! Where do you think all your food comes from? How do you think it gets, produced? How does it get to the store so you can buy it? How do you get to the store?
Smartass: Well, I don't shop at the store, I grow my own food just like my neighbor does and we swap items when need be, and his neighbor does and so on and so on.
Dumbass: Ok smartass, what about all the other things, like electronics and household appliances and clothes and medical care huh? What about those things? You grow them too?
Smartass: Well, in a way. You see I built my house to have natural cooling and heating. There's a cellar with year round temperatures to keep things, cool. I don't need a refrigerator. I don't have a stove. I cook with solar and use biomass from my property or wood. We make our own clothes from the wool of our sheep and culture milk to make cheese. We make our own lamb salami and dry it in the air for storage and smoke bacon for the winter months. Our garden produces enough "waste" to cook anything we might not be able to when the sun isn't shining and as far as washing clothes, our neighbor makes a great soap for washing clothes and bodies and dishes.
On our own, we don't get enough wheat, spelt or corn to cover our needs entierly but since others do, we are able to barter for the things they don't have space or time to grow like wool, bacon, eggs and others.
It's worked now for 15 years and that's why I say, I don't have to worry because I don't drive a car. I have a horse!
I do have a cell phone (an iPhone) so it's not like I'm out of touch. Our solar house has power and we use LEDs for lighting and get power backup from wind, and a small creek that flows near the house.
All in all, it's been a great life since we abandoned the idea that we needed two SUVs, power jobs with associated commute and all the additional unnecessary things that now to us seem so empty, like the hottub or the lake boat or the ski vacations, whatever. It's a far better life and the best part is, almost anyone can do it!
You can build your own house for so little and have it be so much better than paying thorugh the nose for some cookie cutter place. You don't even need to borrow money to build it if you can save up around 10K.
I can give links to those who want to know more.
I can give links to those who want to know more.
__________
I would like to know more.
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